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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28015242">Mistakes Might've Been Made</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichiesVoidofWriting/pseuds/MichiesVoidofWriting'>MichiesVoidofWriting</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Split-curse au [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>I established the rules of this au with pizza, Lilith needs a hug, Lilith split the curse early, Split-curse au, Takes place when Eda and Lilith are kids, eda needs a hug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:15:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28015242</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichiesVoidofWriting/pseuds/MichiesVoidofWriting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh, sister...I should've done this a long time ago."</p>
<p>And what if she had? AU where Lilith split the curse early.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eda Clawthorne &amp; Lilith Clawthorne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Split-curse au [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, this is my first fic on this site and I also posted this on my Tumblr @callmemichie. So some quick little word vomit, I saw some AUs where either Lilith didn't curse Eda or some where Lilith is the one who ends up cursed. I don't know if this specific au has been done before, but I did it anyway.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“No!” Eda addressed the crowd as Lilith froze in place with confusion on her face. “I refuse to battle my sister!” The younger witch smiled softly at her sister,  “I've decided that covens aren't really my style.” Lilith felt a gentle punch to her arm. “Hey don't forget me when you're a big shot, sis.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda wasn’t going to fight her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Eda wasn’t going to fight her</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why did seeing Eda walk away feel like a punch to the gut? It was over. There wasn’t a fight. No one was hurt. So why did it feel wrong?</span>
</p>
<p><em><span>Because you cursed her.</span></em> <em><span>You knew she would beat you so you cursed her. But she refused to fight you. She let you have your dream. </span></em></p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith couldn’t help but stare after her sister as Eda got further from her view...wait. Eda stopped walking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>When had she stopped moving? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith knew before anything happened that something was wrong. She hated being right sometimes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a scream of agony that seemed to echo in the older Clawthorne’s ears and Lilith stood, frozen in place, as feathers covered Eda’s arms, and wings broke through the younger witch’s back and her eyes turned grey. Eda wasn’t a witchling anymore...but a feathered beast that resembled an owl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn’t supposed to happen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>That wasn’t supposed to happen.</em>
  </b>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something in Lilith’s throat closed up, and she wasn’t sure where the pounding in her ears was coming from, but it was deafening. Something had snaked around her lungs and squeezed, forcing the air out, and her heart was throwing itself against her chest, desperate to get out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was too focused on trying to force air back into her lungs to notice the rocks being thrown at her transformed sister, or the delegates coming up from behind her to announce her victory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a roar of either anger or pain, but it brought Lilith back to reality. Just in time to see her younger sister run off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go after her. She isn’t safe here. She’s hurt. Get to Eda. Fix this. You have to fix this. It’s your fault. Get to Eda and fix this. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“EDALYN!” Lilith screamed as she moved to chase after her. However, she found her arm being grabbed, which restricted her movement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lilith Clawthorne, we welcome you to the Emperor’s Coven!” Maybe, in a different life, she would accept this. She would accept this sacrifice for her victory. Cursing her sister to get what she wanted. But she didn’t want this. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted this. But it was everything she dreamed of, wasn’t it? A chance to work alongside the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles was right there. All she had to do was take it.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No. Not like this. Find Eda. Get to Eda. Fix this mistake. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cheers blurred into the background as determination set in on her face. Her sister didn’t ask for this. Eda didn’t deserve this. Her younger sister was her best friend. She rose an army of abominations, fought bullies, and had forfeited the fight for Lilith. And how does all that get repaid? By becoming a victim of selfish desires.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You owe to her to fix this. Find a way to fix this.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me go!” Lilith screamed as she attempted to pry her arm free. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The delegates around her closed in on her, and whatever they were trying to say to calm her down fell on deaf ears. She felt the grip on her arm slightly tighten. They were trying to stop her from going after Eda. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t let them stop you. You’ll never forgive yourself if you let them stop you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was briefly aware of the cheering dying down, and with her free hand, she drew a small circle. Anyone that had the young witch in their sights could see she wasn’t hysterical, but determined. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd let out a collective gasp as the delegate holding Lilith’s arm went flying a few feet into the air and landed with a hard thud onto the ground. The entire crowd froze in place as the other members of the coven took a few steps back, preparing for a possible attack from Lilith.  The witch held no remorse for her actions as her hands glowed a bright blue, and her turquoise eyes narrowed dangerously, daring anyone else within a few feet to challenge her to stay put. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go. Go now before they try and stop you again. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the many people around her began to recover from their shock, she took off running. Lilith prayed to whatever was listening that she could fix this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she ran, following the tracks of her sister’s literal claws, the witch became increasingly aware she had no idea how to fix this. The curse was only supposed to restrict her powers...obviously, that wasn’t what happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What if I can’t fix it? What if she’s stuck like this forever?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith ran faster. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The tracks ended near the entrance of the forest. And not for the first time in her pursuit, she cursed out her life choices. She could try and lie to herself all she wanted, that she didn’t want to hurt her sister, but the truth is, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Even if she hadn’t meant it. She had been willing to humiliate her sister in front of everyone, for a chance to beat her, to prove she was better than her younger sister. Truth be told, Eda was the better one. The better person, the stronger witch, the better sister. Eda wouldn’t have cursed her own blood to get what she wanted. Eda had put her sister first, and Lilith knew she wouldn’t have done the same if the roles were reversed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Funny how the one that transformed into a monster was never one in the first place. I did that. I made her a monster. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just find her and go from there.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Eda might not even be here.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith froze in place. If Eda wasn’t here, Lilith wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. The Isles was a large place and her sister had wings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She had wings. Eda wasn’t supposed to have wings. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda!” Lilith screamed as her eyes furiously searched the forest around her for any sight of movement. “Eda! Where are you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course, she’s not going to come out. She might see me as a threat. She may be frightened and lash out. But it’s not her fault if she doesn’t know her own strength.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith’s search led her into the deeper part of the forest, where all sorts of danger lurked, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She wasn’t sure how many hours had passed and fear began to settle in that she may have lost her sister for good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I ruined her life. She had her whole life ahead of her and I took it away. She never wanted to join a coven in the first place.  If I had just talked to her then this whole thing could’ve been avoided.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bright sunlight that peaked through the trees caught her attention. The sun was beginning to set. It was the last hour before sunset. If Lilith was going to find her, it had to be soon. Finding her sister in the darkness of night was dangerous for both parties involved. Wait...owls were nocturnal animals...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Eda was turned into an owl beast. She has wings. Owls have good hearing.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calamity?” The nickname for her sister slipped out before she could catch it. Lilith hadn’t used that nickname in over a year. Eda loved it though, she thought it was hilarious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What if she's not near here?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her thoughts away before they could distract her even further. She needed a response but was met with silence. She felt her heart tighten. Either her sister was too far out of reach, or she was purposely avoiding her. Both possibilities were enough to make her burst into tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Edalyn, pl-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sharp sound of branches snapping and Lilith barely had time to look at the source before she found her back being slammed into the hard ground under her. The impact forced the air out of her lungs and she could feel the world moving around her as her vision tunneled. She felt a warm wave of air brush over her face and a heavy weight on both of her shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before her vision could clear, a low growl filled her ears. Lilith gingerly blinked and forced her eyes to focus on the fluffy face of a beast with large grey eyes and light brown feathers that were only centimeters away from her glasses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda?” Lilith could feel waves of emotion wash over her all at once. She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved, terrified, happy, sad, or guilty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s alive. She’s okay. I found her. I can fix this now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her sister sniffed her curiously and Lilith froze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What if she sees me as a threat? No. She has every right to be afraid of me.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if Eda could read her thoughts, Lilith found herself now pinned and trapped under a transformed sister. At least she wasn’t viewed as a threat...wait. Was Eda </span>
  <em>
    <span>sitting </span>
  </em>
  <span>on her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda?” Lilith questioned and she tried to move out her arms from her sister’s grasp only to be growled at in protest. “Can you please get off me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I can’t fix this if you’re preventing me from helping you. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith swore that her sister was smirking at her in the transformed state she was in. Could owls even smirk? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. Could she understand me? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Edalyn, get off me,” Lilith demanded as she attempted to test her theory. She was met with another growl that was a lot less hostile than the first one. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” the older witch blinked in disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course, you would be making light of this. You’re stuck as a gigantic owl, and you’re choosing to sit on top of me so I can’t help you. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calamity. Off.” Lilith almost laughed as her sister let out a huff and moved slightly so Lilith was still trapped under her fluffy form, but the older witch could free her arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A scowl fell onto Lilith’s face as she noticed the small patch of dried blood near the top of her sister’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What have I done?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She reached a hand up to examine the wound further, but Eda let out a low growl that was an obvious hint she didn’t want Lilith to touch the injury. Lilith ignored it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They attacked her. She was probably terrified and attacking her didn’t help. Her blood is on my hands. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Edalyn, let me see,” Lilith demanded as her sister raised her head out of reach. “Please?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda lowered her head with a soft huff and Lilith silently cursed as she got a better look at the wound. It luckily wasn't anything serious, just a minor scratch. Still, they viewed Eda as a monster. But they didn't understand what happened. And what people don't understand, they fear. And what they fear, they hate. What they hate is what they destroy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith wasn't aware her hand was still reaching out until Eda leaned into it with a soft whimper, which caused the older one of the two to blink in surprise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Eda is in there. She's still there. I can fix this...even if I don't know how to.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where does it hurt?" Lilith asked softly as she gently scratched her sister's fluffy face in an attempt to comfort her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pained whine escaped Eda, and Lilith felt something stab her heart. She vividly remembered the scream of pure agony that escaped her sister right before the transformation. The rearrangement of her bone structure was no doubt painful and traumatic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry," Lilith whispered as Eda gave a long sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She's in pain. The curse hurt her. It wasn't supposed to do that. I can't let her suffer like this. There has to be something. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The older witch ran through her head for ideas. A top student and she couldn't figure out a decent solution to fix this problem. She's never felt so helpless in her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She needed to figure out how to turn Eda back to normal, and then figure out if the curse was permanent. If it was permanent then she needed to know how to keep the curse under wraps, and if there was a way to reverse it. Plus, she needed to know what went wrong and why her sister was transformed into a huge owl instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Eda? Can you still do magic?" A disgusted huff was the response before another soft sigh followed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She's stuck. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey, look at me, I'm going to fix this." Lilith was trying to convince both of them she could. "I got you, alright? You're going to be okay." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm not sure what I'll do if you aren't. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda released what sounded like a scoff as if she was questioning Lilith's words. Truth be told, all versions of fixing this would require Lilith to leave and come back, but she didn't have the time to track down a method to turn Eda back, and she wasn't going to leave her sister like this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith frowned as she noticed the golden rays had begun to diminish. It was going to get dark </span>
  <em>
    <span>soon</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Plus, who knew how long Eda was willing to stick around? Maybe there were animal instincts that would take her sister from her, and Lilith wasn't going to wait to find out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Running out of time. There has to be something. Any solution is possible. Just think.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can you try fighting it?" It was a stupid suggestion and for the idea, Lilith found her face too close for comfort near her sister's growling one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The older witch rolled her eyes, knowing Eda was not going to bite her face off, as she would've done so a while ago. There was a quick blur of red in her sight when Lilith rolled her eyes, and her gaze landed back on the injury at the top of her sister’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Pain. She's in pain! </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I figured it out!" Lilith's eyes widened as she smiled for the first time all day. She removed her hand from her sister’s face and attempted to push the fluffy form off her. "I need you off." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Eda listened and simply sat down to the right of her previous location with a curious look on her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I have no idea what else to do so we're going to try and we're going to pray to Titan that this works. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith got to her knees and moved over so she was sitting in front of her sister. She tried not to get her hopes up as she touched their foreheads together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please. Please let this work. Let me bring her back. I promise I'll never hurt her again. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"With this spell declared, the pain be shared." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but a bright light strong enough to blind her was not it. Throughout her many years of using that specific spell, nothing like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>has ever happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lily?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you, Titan. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The last thing Eda remembered was screaming and feathers before pure darkness. So why she was in the middle of the forest as daylight rapidly decreased with Lilith crying hysterically in front of her was beyond her understanding. Plus, there was a new soreness that was causing her head to pound and her entire body to ache.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why does everything hurt? Is this what a hangover feels like? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. What happened? Lily would know.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lily. Hey," She reached over to shake her sister back to her senses but instead found herself being pulled into a bone-crushing hug. "Okay, Lils, I can't breathe." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry." Lilith’s sobs were muffled by the thickness of Eda's hair. "I'm so sorry."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is bad. This is really bad. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lily?" Eda asked as she tried to gently break out of her sister’s hold. "What happened? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda raised an eyebrow in confusion as Lilith released her and a very familiar look came onto the older witch’s teary face...as if Lilith was debating something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. What's up with her hair? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lilith." Eda froze as her older sister glanced up and two different colored eyes stared back at her. "What happened?" She gasped out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith had gained a new grey streak and a grey eye. From what was still unknown, but Eda was near certain it had to do with the reason behind the crying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean?" Lilith sniffled before her entire body stiffened and the color drained from her face. "Oh, Titan." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh, Titan</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Eda shouted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Great. Now another problem to worry about. Seriously, I'm the one that gets into trouble. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Your eyes," Lilith weakly gasped out as Eda narrowed her eyes in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>My eyes</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Eda repeated before pointing at her sister, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>You're </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who has two different colored eyes and a streak of grey!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So do you!" Lilith exclaimed in surprise but the dread was clear behind it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait...are...are we matching? Why are we matching? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lilith?" Eda couldn't help the shake in her voice. "What. Happened?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I…" Lilith's eyes fell to the ground and Eda’s surprise, she began sobbing harder. Within a second, the younger witch was desperately trying to hold her older sister together as she fell apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please tell me what's wrong. I can help you fix it. Just tell me what happened. Lily, please let me in. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry." </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Eda was certain of one thing. She was cursed in her sleep. She knew deep down it happened when she was asleep if her nightmare of seeing a dark figure in her dreams enter her room was anything to go by. So she had a very reasonable excuse for forcing herself to stay awake for the second day in a row. As for sneaking into Lilith’s room at one in the morning, she was scared and for once in her life had no idea how to deal with this. Lilith had been there...Lilith had done </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>to transform her from the owl beast into a witchingling. But now, Eda needed her sister to do something else. She needed her older sister to tell her everything would be alright and keep the nightmares at bay, except, Lilith wasn’t there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lily?” Eda whispered into the dark room. She could feel something heavy rest on her chest and the tightness of her throat when she realized Lilith wasn’t here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What if it got her too? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her legs felt heavy as she forced herself to step into the room. Her golden eyes had adjusted to the darkness of her surroundings and the narrow beam of the moonlight peeked through the curtains. If it wasn’t for the fact she was finding it harder to breathe with every step, she would’ve poked around like usual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lily is fine. She is going to come back. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s all fine.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn’t sure when she got to Lilith’s bed and climbed in or when she wrapped herself in her sister’s favorite blanket and held Lilith’s pillow to her chest like a lifeline. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lily. Lily. Please come back. Please come back. I’m scared. I need you. Where are you? Please come back. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was weird...being afraid to sleep. You find yourself trying to use everything around you to keep you up. The settling of the house, the darkness of the room that covers it like a blanket, the clock nearby and its ticking...or in Eda’s case, all of that and the fact her sister was missing in the middle of the night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been two hours since she came in search of her sister. Two hours of going through every possible explanation as to why Lilith was missing...well at least those that didn’t involve something terrible. Part of her debated telling her parents… but she knew they wouldn’t bat an eye at their eldest daughter missing, and Eda was too shaken to try and go after her because part of her knew Lilith </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>in danger. It was that part that kept her from breaking out of the house through the nearest window and running around the town in the dead of night when who knows what could happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she held her sister’s pillow as her only defense against the night terrors that forced her awake. Her voice had been lost to her a long time ago, and her vision had blurred for reasons she didn’t know or bring herself to care about. The only thing she could hear was her soft exhales that seemed to echo in the room and the rest of the world had drifted into nothing. Even though she was staring at the wall in front of her, she couldn’t see it. All she could see was the darkness of the void. As for her thoughts that had connected to fear and panic, she was trapped by them. Holding her hostage as she desperately tried to free herself of them.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not real. It’s not. Wake up, wake up. Wake up! </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda felt all air squeezed out of her lungs as the bedroom door opened and the sinking realization that the figure in her nightmare was back made her blood run cold. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s here. I don’t want to be here. Get me out of here. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda, what are you doing in here?” The younger witch heard her name but it sounded distant, even if it had come from the doorway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s going to hurt me. I don’t want to be hurt again. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?” There was something different about the voice this time...it was faster, higher in a specific octave, yet tight in some ways. She felt a weight on her shoulders...not heavy but not soft either...tight. The weight was holding her...gripping onto her as if it was trying to break through to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Lily! Lily, please. Help me. I’m scared. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here. Okay, I’m here, Edalyn.” Her face was pressed against something...it’s hard but it’s also soft in a way. Whatever it is, made her feel safe. It was enough to pull her from the void and back to reality, where tears were spilling from her eyes as her body shook violently, and she doesn’t realize it’s Lilith she’s holding onto until she feels the arms wrap around her back and hold her tightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What did I do to deserve this? What did I do wrong?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault, alright?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I wish I could believe that.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Lily?” Eda whispered as she playfully poked her older sister. She knew she should’ve let Lilith sleep in longer but her sister’s sudden departure from the house was nagging at her. Lilith is the good child. She’s the one who gets top student, nags Eda for being reckless, gets to bed on time or spends the whole night studying, and was a total goody-goody who followed the rules religiously. So why Lilith would suddenly break her golden-child persona was beyond Eda’s understanding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calamity,” Lilith groaned out as she was pulled from her slumber. “I swear to Titan-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why were you gone last night?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Any traces of drowsiness suddenly faded and Lilith shot up so fast, it nearly gave the younger witch whiplash. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...umm…” Lilith’s words fell into silence and Eda saw the way her shoulders tense and how her face suddenly seemed to erase the emotions. However, Lilith’s eyes were the only indication of her feelings. They seemed to be wet as if tears were ready to fall, but were focused on anything but her younger sister. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lily?” Eda questioned not only why her sister was refusing to answer her question by why Lilith was closing off. They told each other everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was at the Night Market.” Lilith’s voice held no warmth like the one Eda had grown up hearing.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What?" Eda exclaimed. "Why? What were you doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Trying to find an explanation for what happened to you," Lilith stated coldly and Eda felt her heart sink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tense moment of silence passed between them and Eda had worked up the courage to ask a question she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lily?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hm?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you think I'm a monster?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda would've found the situation hilarious with how fast her sister's head snapped up and how wide her eyes got. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>," Lilith growled out and Eda found her shoulders gripped tightly. "You are </span>
  <span>not </span>
  <span>a monster, so how dare you think otherwise."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lily, you're hurting m-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Listen to me, Edalyn." A hiss of pain escaped the younger witch as Lilith's fingers dug into her shoulders. "You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a monster. No matter what anyone says, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>be a monster." The mismatched eyes of her older sister held an intensity Eda wasn't aware Lilith could possess. "Do you understand me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Lilith released her hold and stepped back with an unreadable expression. “I have news.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good or bad?” Eda raised an eyebrow as she absentmindedly rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Both.” There it was, that icy tone. “Which one do you want?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bad.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The curse isn’t gone..” Lilith continued to explain but the only thing Eda could focus on was the outlier in her sister’s red hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lily?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a grey streak in your hair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m working on that so-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You never told me why we both have one.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eda’s eyebrows drew closer in confusion as Lilith squared her shoulders and her eyes dropped to the floor before rising back up. The younger witch refused to acknowledge the stabbing pain in her stomach that was trying to work its way to her brain which would lead to her blaming herself for something that was out of her control.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith’s silence was deafening, and Eda wasn’t sure if her sister didn’t know how to tell her or didn’t want to say what they both knew. There was only one spell they both knew that could cause a mirrored physical change. But if Lilith had done what Eda deeply feared and prayed wasn’t true, then there was no way she could forgive herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You split the curse...didn’t you?” Eda ignored the way her voice shook as she glanced up at her older sister. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t have another choice, Eda.” Lilith sighed heavily as she brought a hand to examine the grey strand, “You...it was something I </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do...I needed to get you back to normal and I didn’t see any other-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have done that,” Eda shook her head as she let out a humorless chuckle. Now it made sense. She had dragged her sister down with her. Lilith's entire future was ruined...and it was her fault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” Lilith raised an eyebrow in either confusion or surprise, Eda wasn’t sure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because now you’re stuck. You said it yourself, the curse isn’t gone. And it’s something you never should’ve had to do. It should’ve been only me dealing with it because if the curse isn’t gone that means that the beast could come back and I could hurt you and I don’t want to-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“<em>Stop</em>. <em>Talking</em>.” Eda froze at the dark and piercing demand of her older sister. There seemed to be a lot more of that recently. “It was my choice and I don’t regret it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Lily-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Lilith leveled her sister with a glare that sent shivers down her spine, “Look, Edalyn, the curse has been split. We’re sharing it. Yes, it isn’t gone. And yes, we don’t know how to deal with it, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am going to figure it out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’m going to help you.” Eda was surprised at how sharp her voice sounded, leaving no room for argument. “You’re not the only one with a curse, Lilith. We’re in this together. You don’t get to push me away.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” Lilith said after a moment of tense silence and Eda smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, the bad news was that the curse is still here despite it being cut down the middle?” Eda questioned her sister for a refresher. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That and the fact there are possible other </span>
  <em>
    <span>side effects</span>
  </em>
  <span> we have yet to find out,” Lilith huffed as she flopped onto her bed. “The fact it’s shared between us is another factor we’re going to have to consider.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wh-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda, think about it. This isn’t a cut or a scrape or even a sprain. It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>curse</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Lilith rubbed her temples, “I have no idea if we’re tied together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Lily,” Eda shook her head as she shot down the idea she assumed her sister was implying. “If I got another cut after you split it, it doesn’t give you one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Lilith asked as she sat back up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you assuming that if we transform we do it together?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorta…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s the case.” Eda sat up to meet her sister’s gaze, “You cut the curse in half. Which means like umm...a pizza. If we cut a pizza in half, each person gets a slice, but they aren’t tied together even if they are the same thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So it’s the same curse but we’re each dealing with it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Eda shot to her feet and nearly tripped over the blanket as she stood tall on Lilith’s bed. “Because when I was a gigantic fluffy owl, you didn’t turn into one when you split it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That…” Lilith blinked in surprise, “that actually makes sense.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Eda let out a soft huff as she flopped beside her sister, “now here comes the question...do we turn into an owl beast or is it going to be like a half transformation?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope we don’t come to that point.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was I that bad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. You were pretty much a more irritating fluffy pillow,” Lilith snorted and Eda giggled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sat on me and refused to move.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you didn’t freak out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Because, Calamity, you were being a pest. You were stuck as a gigantic owl and the first thought that came to you was to sit on me.” Lilith huffed, “If I have to be stuck under a pile of fluff, I swear to Titan, I will shave you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think shaving owls is a thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll make it one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Eda rolled her eyes before pausing. “Lily? You said there was good news?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” Lilith shot out of bed and ran over to her bag near the door. Eda blinked in confusion as her sister pulled out a glass bottle with an orange liquid. “Good news.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A potion?” Eda questioned as she looked at the bottle before glancing at her sister.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Close. An elixir.” Lilith walked back over to her sister and held out the bottle. “It’s supposed to keep the curse at bay.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So... no fluffy owl beast?” The younger witch asked uncertainty, “I’m not going to suddenly sprout feathers and stuff?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t, but it’s a temporary solution until I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“<em>We</em>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> figure out a way to either heal or reverse the curse.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, the two of us can figure out something.” Eda rubbed her temples, “It can’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard, can it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know yet.” Lilith sighed as she sat down at the edge of her bed, “But we’ll take it one step at a time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of one step,” Eda sat up as she scooted over to her sister and gently tugged the grey strand. “How do we explain this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Simple,” Lilith smiled as she drew a small circle in the air and Eda gasped in surprise as the outlier in her sister’s hair suddenly disappeared. “A simple illusion spell, but if you prefer it, we can keep it as is.” The older witch shrugged, “We get mistaken as twins enough as it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re just mad because I’m getting taller.” Eda chuckled before frowning, “How much is it going to take out of you to keep the spell up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a lot.” Lilith admitted with a frown, “But I’m switching to the illusion track, so perhaps it will be easier for me to maintain the spell after I learn more illusion based magic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You really should do what I do,” Eda smirked as she tossed her hair back. “Sneaking around the school makes it easy not to get caught. Plus, you learn a little bit more magic...well bits and pieces.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know that would get you into so much trouble, right?” Lilith scoffed in amusement, “Though, you don’t mind that one bit, Calamity.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have to live a little, Lily,” the younger witch laughed as she jumped onto her sister’s back, sending them both into a laughing mess as they crashed onto the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Speaking of living a little,” Lilith suddenly sobered. “We have to go back to school tomorrow.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>To say Lilith was exhausted was an understatement. Aside from staying up all night in hopes of finding a cure or a way to reverse the curse, monitoring herself and Eda's side effects of said curse, comforting her sister with the shunning of their peers, and keeping her grades up, the older witch was fighting an internal battle she wasn't sure she could win. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The immense guilt had only grown stronger and there were some days she couldn't even look at her younger sister without it feeling like a punch to the gut. She knew she destroyed her sister's innocence by forcing her to grow up to deal with a problem that should've never existed. Yet, there Eda was, right by her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She isn't sure when the thought hit her like a Grudgby ball to the face. It varied between the night Eda fell asleep on her as they flipped through a book on curses, and the day Eda nearly tore her backpack to shreds after seeing her locker covered in graffiti mocking her curse. All she knew was that from Eda’s point of view, the curse came from out of nowhere for absolutely no reason. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were some restless nights where she ran the possible outcomes in her head and debated on telling her sister. But it was the question, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>If the roles were reversed, would I want to know</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" That cemented her decision. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn't let Eda live the rest of her life with no answers. Sure, her sister would probably hate her, but at least it would bring some closure on the traumatic event. Hopefully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So before her courage could leave, Lilith went hunting down her sister, who was sitting in the front yard with a pile full of sticks next to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eda…” Lilith sighed as she sat beside her sister. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If this is about the teasing and the name-calling at school, then I don’t want to hear it.” Eda huffed as she rested her arms on top of her knees. “They all see me as a monster and nothing will change their minds." She nodded in the direction of the stick pile. "So I might as well embrace it, y’know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only you would take a curse and base your aesthetic off it,” Lilith hummed softly. “You’re the strongest witch I know. I hope you know that.” The younger witch turned her head in confusion. Lilith wasn’t a very mushy person. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, so the bullying is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you wanted to talk to me about.” Eda raised an eyebrow as she noticed how tense her older sister looked. “Wassup, Lily?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been keeping something from you, and recently I realized I had no right to do that.” Lilith had a great interest in the ground as she let out a tired sigh as if whatever she had been hiding was weighing her down. “I’m the reason you’re cursed, Eda. It’s...it’s all my fault.” If her breath hitched on the last two words, neither of them pointed it out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lily,” Eda scoffed, “unless you broke into my room in the middle of the night, then it isn’t your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Lilith shook her head and Eda jolted up as she noticed the tears falling from her sister’s face. “You don’t understand. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>my fault...b-because that’s...that’s exactly what I did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-you…</span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Eda shook her head in denial, “You wouldn’t…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No. Nononononono. You're lying. You have to be lying. Lily, this isn't funny. I swear-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Edalyn." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're...you’re not lying. Oh, Titan. You're…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait, let me-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"LET YOU WHAT?!" Eda shouted as tears of anger fell from her face and she got to her feet. "YOU CURSED ME, LILITH. THERE'S <em>NOTHING</em> YOU COULD POSSIBILITY SAY TO MAKE THIS BETTER."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Eda, <em>please</em>," Lilith begged as she realized she had lost her sister's trust. "Let me explain."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"<em>No</em>." The younger Clawthorne glared daggers and Lilith felt the coldness of her sister’s voice stab through her heart. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say to me." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought for weeks I was a monster because of you!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I always said you weren't!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"<em>Wow</em>." Eda huffed as she shook her head in disbelief, "Now I know why you were so adamant about me not allowing myself to believe I was a monster." She sneered, "Because there was one right in front of me this whole time and I was too stupid to notice."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lilith said nothing when her sister ran inside the house and a sinking realization came with the slam of the front door. Her sister hated her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For once in her life, Lilith couldn't work up an argument to defend herself. She knew monsters didn’t hide in the shadows of the night or under the bed. They existed in the light, hiding in plain sight...hiding true intentions… which meant Eda was right. She was a monster. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Somedays, I think I would be better off never knowing at all,” Eda sighed and ignored the fact she was talking aloud to herself. </p><p>
  <em> Because if I didn’t know, then I wouldn’t feel terrible and I could live blissfully unaware of what actually happened. Because then, I could still trust my sister. </em>
</p><p>Her sister hurt her. It was a fact. Lilith had stabbed her in the back and Eda wasn’t sure if she would be able to recover from her injuries. She thought she knew her sister. She was wrong. </p><p>
  <em> Why? Out of all the possible people to stab me in the back, it had to be you. </em>
</p><p>The witch rolled onto her side to glare daggers at the chair under her door at the thought.  </p><p>The one person she thought the world of, the one who was supposed to protect her from the dangers of reality had suddenly shattered her innocent point of view of the world. She knew the truth. The world around her was tainted. There was evil all around her and Eda knew she wouldn’t be powerless against it again. </p><p>
  <em> I shouldn’t have to grow up this fast.  </em>
</p><p>“You did this to me,” Eda snarled as her eyes landed on the picture she kept on her nightstand next to the Elixir. The photo was taken on Eda’s tenth birthday. Lilith was smiling brightly and had the younger witch in a bear hug from behind while Eda was caught in mid-laugh at the display of affection. </p><p>
  <em> Simpler times. </em>
</p><p>Her heart ached at the memory, but also at the fact that those days were long behind them. Things had changed and Eda hated that she had to adapt to it.  She couldn’t trust Lilith to have her back. Not anymore. </p><p>
  <em> The only person I can depend on is myself. </em>
</p><p>With a huff, she twirled her finger in the air and ignored the way the frame flew across the room and crashed into the wall. Instead, Eda sat up and focused on grabbing the Elixir bottle, ignoring that Lilith had been the one to supply her with it, and shoved it in her hair. </p><p>“I don’t need you. Or anyone else.” </p><hr/><p>Lilith sighed as she practically fell off the window sill and into her bedroom. She had an hour at most before she was supposed to start getting ready for the day and she knew she wouldn’t spend that hour sleeping...not when there was so much she needed to get done before she left the house to go to school. </p><p>
  <em> Either I need to cut the Night Market visits shorter or actually do my homework. It's a freaking miracle I remember to take my Elixir.  </em>
</p><p>The witch let out a low grumble of curses that there weren’t enough hours in the day to carry out her daily objectives. She forced herself off the floor and silently closed her window before turning to her desk and tossing her bag on top of the worn wooden surface that was covered in papers of scribbled notes. Her turquoise eyes lingered on them longer than she should’ve allowed. </p><p>
  <em> Useless. All of it.  </em>
</p><p>Another sigh came as she dug her hand into the small messenger bag and pulled out another book she managed to get her hands on from her trip. The witch silently prayed that she would find <em> something </em>to help the situation she created and not be another letdown like the other seven she had in her inventory. </p><p>Her hand ran over the worn cover of the book and her eyes focused on the yellow and softened pages. Whatever information was in her hands could be outdated and Lilith feared the possibility. Outdated information wasn’t exactly useless, but it did like to bite her later when she tried to put that information to use. </p><p>
  <em> Please. Please let me find a solution. </em>
</p><p>Her eyes narrowed in determination as she sat down at her desk and opened the book. She ignored the way eyes seemed to blur the words together and how her hand seemed to shake when she attempted to write notes about her findings. </p><p>
  <em> Just find the answers. </em>
</p><p>“Lilith!”</p><p>There was a sudden pounding on her door and Lilith frowned as she noticed that she read only a small fraction of the book in front of her. No way had an hour passed by that quickly.</p><p><em> I need more time </em>.</p><p>“Lilith!” Eda’s bitter voice came from the other side of the door, "We're being shoved out of the house. We got school.”</p><p>“Alright!” Lilith shouted back as she shoved the book into her bag and quickly ran to the small mirror hung up on her wall. </p><p>The witch winced at how red her turquoise eyes were, which was a clear indication that would alert anyone who paid attention to her that something was wrong. And if it weren’t the bloodshot eyes, it was the sickly looking pale skin that was probably due to the all-nighters. </p><p>There was a sigh as she twirled her finger in the air and frowned at her ability to hide her problems behind a spell. </p><p>
  <em> All the spells in the world will never change the fact that it’s still there. All of it. </em>
</p><hr/><p>Lilith tried not to let it bother her that Eda would avoid her at all cost, the way her younger sister dragged a chair under the door at night, or how Eda acted as if she expected Lilith to blow and it wasn’t like Lilith could blame her. Eda only spoke to her with every word like a sharp knife that was intended to cut into her…and it did.</p><p>Perhaps that’s why it was so easy to devote herself to researching a way to cure the curse. It kept her busy. If she was busy, then she couldn’t find time to hate herself. And maybe, just maybe, finding a way to cure the curse would be a way to help rebuild the bridge she destroyed with her sister...that is if Eda wanted to. </p><p>“I swear to Titan if I don’t find anything useful here I’m going to look into alternative methods,” Lilith muttered as she continued to scan over the book in her lap. She was lucky lunch was the only time at school she was able to be alone, which had once included a spunky witch’s presence. </p><p>
  <em> Focus on the book. Eda doesn’t want me around and I need to respect that.  </em>
</p><p>There was a sigh, and she shook the thoughts away of her younger sister and continued to scan the bottom of the page for anything she could use. It was by some stroke of luck, or the work of the Titan, when the witch’s eyes widened in a mix of relief and surprise at the information on the next page. </p><p>“A transformation potion.” Sure, she never heard about a handful of the ingredients listed on the page and she was certain that a specific species of herb was extinct, but it was something. Even if the potion was intended to turn the target into a frog for a few hours, Lilith knew she could work with it. All she had to do was reverse the intentions of the potion. Easier said than done.</p><hr/><p>Eda knew full well that the curse was placed on her by her sister. She had her theories as to why. Perhaps Lilith was trying to get back at her, or maybe something went wrong… or her sister had indeed tried to harm her. Part of her screamed it didn’t matter as her sister had cursed her and took advantage of her vulnerability. However, Eda knew, somewhere, under the paranoia and anger, that Lilith was not a malicious person. Her sister never gave off any of those vibes. Yet, the revelation of the curse, of course, changed that and there was some debate if her sister was someone she never really knew.</p><p>The main thing that prevented Eda from blasting her sister into next week and demanding an explanation was the fact she didn’t want to reach Lilith’s level and do something she would end up regretting. There was also the fear that Lilith would lie to her, considering her sister had kept the truth a secret. That was the main reason she was afraid to ask. How could she be certain that nothing else was being withheld or that Lilith wouldn’t make up words to lure her back into trusting her? How could she trust anything her sister said? Who was to say Lilith wouldn’t try to hurt her again? But she needed the truth and the only way to get that was to ask the monster herself.</p><p>"Why did you do it?" Eda asked as she sat down from across her sister at the table.</p><p>
  <em> Please don’t let this blow up in my face. </em>
</p><p>"I'm sorry?" Lilith blinked in surprise as she set down her book. </p><p>"The curse," Eda's voice was hard as she leveled her older sister with a glare that could kill. </p><p>"I wanted to beat you." It's a simple answer, one that was cold and straightforward, as if it had been rehearsed. </p><p>"You cursed me," there was a bitter scoff, "so you could beat me in a fight I was never going to participate in." </p><p>"Yes." Eda raised an eyebrow at Lilith's simple answers. </p><p><em> Why do I bother? I swear, I would get more responses from a wall </em>. </p><p>"And that's it?" The younger witch forced herself to keep calm. </p><p>"You asked my intentions behind it, and I gave them to you." Lilith's facade broke as she sighed, "I don't know what you want from-"</p><p>"What I want," Eda couldn't help the snarl, "is for you to just be honest with me for once in your life. None of these simple answers or half-truths to keep stuff from me." Her eyes narrowed, "You hurt me, and the only thing keeping me from punching you in the face is the fact unlike you, I'm not willing to stoop that low.<em> To cause harm to my own sister </em>." </p><p>"Alright," Lilith nodded her head. </p><p>"Why didn't you just talk to me?" The pent-up frustration and the irritation regarding the lack of Lilith's reactions were beginning to surface. "If you had just talked to me months ago, neither of us would be dealing with a curse that turns someone into a freaking gigantic owl." </p><p>"Because I thought…" there was a sigh as Eda raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think it through. I made a mistake." Lilith, in a rare moment of courage, glanced up. "I was so worried about trying to beat you, that I never considered talking."</p><p>"Did you honestly think that I wasn't going to listen?" The silence that followed was all Eda needed. </p><p>
  <em> You should know me better than that.  </em>
</p><p>"I..." There was a frown from the older witch and her eyes narrowed in thought as if she was debating on saying something else. </p><p>"Just say it," Eda demanded. </p><p>"You were never one to back down from a fight... <em> ever </em>." Lilith sighed, "I didn't expect you to forfeit."</p><p>"Well, I did." There was a scoff, bitterness easily traceable. "I decided to be a good sister and throw the contest because that was your dream more than mine. I knew I would've beat you. And honestly…" a dry, humorless, chuckle escape Eda, "deep down I feared that if I took that away from you, you would've hated me." She shrugged as if the next words that followed hadn't plagued her thoughts for months, "But I guess you already did."</p><p>"Why would you think I hated you?" Lilith's voice came as a shrill cry of surprise as if her sister’s words had practically stabbed her. </p><p>"Because you're <em> embarrassed </em> by me." Eda snarled, venom dripping from her words, "I get us into trouble, I'm the one Bump scolds and our teachers look down on. I fight off your bullies which probably makes you look like a wimp if your <em> baby sister </em> is fighting your fights for you." Another bitter scoff, "You...you’re the golden child. You're the one who was striving to be in the Emperor's Coven, the teacher's pet...and your name is tied to mine." The younger witch's ears dropped slightly. "Because between the two of us, we both know I'm stronger. Hell, I boast about it all the time. So you wanted to humiliate me for making you look bad. As you said, <em> you wanted to beat me </em>." </p><p>"That's not-"</p><p>"You know, I was so worried. I was <em> terrified </em>that I had ruined your life when I realized you split the curse." Eda sneered, "But you cursed me." The younger witch shot to her feet as she slammed her fists on the table. "I had my entire life ahead of me and because you decided to be selfish, everyone sees me as a monster. Do you know how much it sucks to have people mock you and act as if I asked for this?"</p><p>"Then just tell them all who the real monster is and they'll change their minds," Lilith's voice was dark...the same fierceness and drive had returned from nowhere. </p><p>"That won't matter." Eda knew it wouldn't. Lilith was still seen in good lighting at school, somehow tainted by fear in recent months, and if Eda went around telling everyone that her sister cursed her, hardly anyone would believe it. "They chose what they wanted to believe. I don't have to prove anything to them."</p><p>Silence settled upon them as the younger witch sat back down. Eda wasn’t sure if the conversation needed to continue or if she could just call it a night and go back to avoiding her older sister, who seemed to be debating the same thing-<em> wait </em>. </p><p>"Hold up." Eda shook her head as confusion ghosted her features, "Do you realize this is the first genuine conversion we’ve had?"</p><p>“Why is this important?” Lilith raised an eyebrow but Eda noticed the tension in her shoulders. </p><p>“It’s been literal months, Lilith.” The younger witch narrowed her eyes, “We’ve been avoiding each other as if one of us is going to explode,” she added as Lilith opened her mouth to protest, “Why?”</p><p>“<em> Why </em>?” Lilith questioned with her eyes wide and a slow exhale. </p><p>“Yes. Why?”</p><p>“You’re angry at me. You have every right to be.” The way Lilith’s eyes glanced down before meeting her sister’s put Eda on edge. “I didn’t want to-”</p><p>“What? Make things worse?” Eda snarled, “You’re a coward who didn’t know how to fix her mistake so you kept your distance to-”</p><p>“You think that’s what I’m doing.” Lilith’s voice was suddenly cold and sharp. Eda’s fire had nothing over the mountain of ice. “I can promise you, it’s not.”</p><p>“Yeah, well that doesn’t mean anything to me.” The younger witch narrowed her eyes, “The last time I trusted you, I ended up turning into a freaking owl for everyone to see.” </p><p>“Do you think that doesn’t matter to me?” Lilith asked, mirroring her sister’s glare. “I was there, Edalyn. I-”</p><p>“Let me guess, wake up every day haunted by your greatest mistake, that oh,” Eda sneered, her tone mocking, “the straight-A, top student, Lilith Clawthorne has no idea how to fix.” </p><p>“I’m trying-”</p><p>“Then stop!” There was a frustrated sigh, “When are you going to understand that there are just some things that you can’t fix!” </p><p>“I could-"</p><p>“You’re such a liar.” Eda gave a soft, bitter, chuckle. “You’ve distanced yourself from me to the point where it’s rare we’re ever seen together. I don’t even know if I can trust you anymore, people at school fear you for reasons beyond my understanding, and all that talk about you staying by my side and that we would face this together-”</p><p>“That was <em> you </em> .” Lilith’s words cut through her like a knife. “I wanted to keep you out of it. <em> You </em> were the one who wanted to be involved. <em> You </em> stuck by <em> my side </em>.”</p><p> <em> She’s right. I was the one who was pestering her to let me help. That we were in this together and she agreed. But...that was a lie. All she ever does is lie.  </em></p><p>“I hate you.” Eda shot up from the table and stormed off to her bedroom. </p><p>She slammed the door behind her and quickly walked over to her desk to grab her chair. She dragged it across her floor and placed it under the doorknob. The action was starting to become muscle memory. </p><p>“Welp…” She sighed as she flopped onto her bed and angrily wiped at her tears. </p><p>
  <em> I should’ve known better.  </em>
</p><hr/><p>“Edalyn?” A soft knock came at her bedroom door. </p><p>
  <em> Go away. </em>
</p><p>“What?” Eda spat as she glared daggers at the door from her spot on her bed.</p><p>“Look,” there was a sigh, “I’m so-”</p><p>“I don’t care.” As far as Eda was concerned, she wanted nothing to do with her older sister. </p><p>
  <em> She’s going to hurt me. And no one is going to hurt me again. </em>
</p><p>“Edalyn, please.” Lilith’s voice sounded softer, “I just want to-”</p><p>“I don’t care to hear it. Do you know what I want?” Eda stormed off her bed as anger washed over her. The witch stomped over to her closed door and rested her hand on the doorknob, resisting the urge to slam the door open, and screamed at Lilith. “I want you to leave me alone. I want you to get out of my life before you have the chance to ruin it again, you monster!”</p><p>The witch huffed as she heard the footsteps get further away.</p><hr/><p>The books flew off the desk from a swipe of her hands and an uncontainable amount of rage filled her mind.</p><p>
  <em> Monster. </em>
</p><p>She wouldn’t even need the books if she hadn’t cast the curse.</p><p>
  <em> Monster. </em>
</p><p>She cursed her sister in her sleep. </p><p>
  <em> Monster. </em>
</p><p>The curse ruined Eda’s life.</p><p>
  <em> Monster. </em>
</p><p>The curse ruined everything. </p><p>
  <em> Monster. </em>
</p><p>It was her fault.</p><p>
  <b> <em>"Now I know why you were so adamant about me not allowing myself to believe I was a monster. Because there was one right in front of me this whole time and I was too stupid to notice."</em> </b>
</p><p>“I know,” Lilith refused to let her eyes fall to the floor and kept glaring at her reflection. </p><p>She let out a slow sigh, taking the moment to silence the voices in her head so she could push the thoughts away. Her inner demons could wait. For now, they could sit in the far back of her mind where she could ignore them. The witch couldn’t afford setbacks. </p><p>The curse needed to be cured. It needed to be gone. Those were facts. Her sister hated her, her mind was her worst enemy at the moment, and there was no one she could turn to. The only person she could depend on was herself and she’ll be damned if she allowed her demons to break her. She needed to be stronger than that. She <em> had </em>to be stronger than that. </p><p>“The only thing that matters is curing the curse.” It should’ve surprised her how dull her voice sounded. There was no sharpness, no shaking, or even determination. She made a statement and maybe if she repeated it to herself enough times she would believe it. </p><p>Lilith knew she was digging herself into a hole, but she understood that at this point, the only way to get out of it was to keep digging. </p><hr/><p>“I’m not the monster,” Eda sighed as she moved the chair out from under the doorknob. </p><p>Lilith was the monster because she was selfish. Lilith was the monster because she cursed her sister. And if Lilith was the monster then that meant Eda wasn’t one.  </p><p>
  <em> I’m not like you.  </em>
</p><p>The witch stormed down the hallway and slammed open her sister’s door. Eda wasn't here for a conversation, she was here to make a statement. </p><p>Lilith's head snapped up from her book with her face full of concern and Eda would've found it sweet but she knew better. </p><p>"Edalyn?"</p><p>"I want it gone." The harsh tone easily overpowered Lilith’s frail one. </p><p>"I promise I'm working on-"</p><p>"I meant the spell."</p><p>
  <em> Because then I'm not hiding. Not like you. Then I can show you that you can’t stop me. I'll show you that I can be the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles even with some stupid curse. You can't get rid of me so easily.  </em>
</p><p>"Alright." Eda's confidence faltered for a moment. </p><p>It was so easy. Too easy. Lilith didn't even put up a fight. </p><p><em> It's a tr</em><em>ick</em>. </p><p>"That's it?" The younger witch ignored the stabbing pain in her heart that she couldn't trust Lilith’s intentions. It took one second to remind herself that it was Lilith’s fault. </p><p>"If you wish to no longer use the spell then I have no right to stop you," Lilith shrugged and drew a circle in the air. </p><p>Eda saw the blue ring, turned to Lilith’s mirror, and smirked at the grey eye and strand of hair that easily stood out among her other features. She didn't have Lilith’s magic hiding her anymore. </p><p>"Good." Lilith didn't deserve a thank you. "You have no right to stop anything I do," the younger witch turned to her older sister, not surprised that Lilith held up the illusion on herself. </p><p><em> Lilith is a coward </em>. </p><p>"E-"</p><p>"Thanks for the curse, sis." The laugh that came out was sharp and mocking as she turned to leave the room, "The Boiling Isles is about to meet its most powerful witch." </p><p>Seeing Lilith's ears fall in her peripheral vision brought a sick smile of victory to her face. The plan to humiliate her failed. Lilith wasn’t going to be able to hurt her.</p><p><em> Never again </em>. </p><p>The best way to show Lilith that she lost was to embrace the one thing that others tried to belittle her for. Plus, it was a massive bonus to give a massive f-you you to her older sister.</p><p>"Edalyn-"</p><p>"It kinda has a nice ring to it." </p><p>"What does?"</p><p>"Eda the Owl Lady."</p><p><em> And it's all thanks to you </em>.</p><hr/><p>If there was one thing she learned from being the top student in the potion track, it was that success didn’t come easily. Anything could go wrong with brewing a potion. It could be an ingredient being off by the color, or the amount of a specific herb was too little, it didn’t matter. If every little detail wasn’t taken care of with a sharp eye, a setup for failure was the result. </p><p>Lilith knew potions. She knew what temperature was good with some ingredients, and what slight color changes meant. But it was one thing to create a potion from scratch to fit a specific task like one that could tend to a cold...altering potions, especially those that weren’t meant to be tampered with, were a different thing completely.</p><p>She figured that the best way to start was to mess with potions she knew and then work her way up from there. A lot of guess and go with it was her main technique. It seemed to be working considering most of her tests allowed some type of result. Then again, she was testing her experiments on the weeds in the front yard. </p><p>
  <em> It’s glowing yellow. How does it glow yellow? Nothing that I used would cause it to glow, let alone have it glow yellow. It was supposed to turn blue! </em>
</p><p>A frustrated groan escaped the witch as she ran her hands through her hair. She took a breath before scribbling down the results of her latest experiment. It should’ve amused her how she was barely passing the halfway mark of her notebook. The notebook was filled with her failures, and if it wasn’t for the fact she needed to look back on it, she would’ve burned it to a crisp. </p><p>“This one made it grow flowers,” she muttered quietly as she scanned over the previous page, “and this one had it smell like rotten apples. It was a potion that was supposed to transform it into a fly, so how does it-<em> wait </em>...” </p><p>She flipped to the front of the notebook and skimmed through her data. She paid no mind to the notes of her failure but noticed a constant the closer she got to her most recent experiment. All the expected results turned out differently because of the one factor she had overlooked. The biology was different. </p><p>Lilith slowly brought her eyes back to the glowing plant on her desk before looking to the side where her concoction rested in the small cauldron. </p><p>
  <em> It could work.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But it’s a risk. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> How will I know unless I test it? </em>
</p><p>Her eyes narrowed in determination. Her heels were set in. She grabbed the small spoon that she had used to mix the potion and didn’t hesitate to take a sip. It was bitter and seemed to scratch down her throat, but there was no way to take it back. </p><p>She woke the next morning and nearly gave herself whiplash when her brain processed the light tint to blue to her hands. She adjusted her glasses that were in desperate need of being cleared of smudges and tried not to knock anything over as she excitedly pushed herself away from her desk. </p><p>Lilith walked over to her mirror and held her hand up to prove that what she was seeing wasn’t an effect of sleep deprivation. The blue tint was obvious in the mirror considering the stark contrast it had to her pale skin. </p><p>
  <em> It worked.  </em>
</p><p>For once, could smile at her reflection. She was getting somewhere.</p><p>“I was right.”</p><hr/><p>Eda hated the way her sister was able to get under her skin without even trying. She could be perfectly fine the entire day and then see Lilith and then she’s suddenly not fine. How could she be fine when her mind is screaming about the betrayal, reminding her of the terrible thing Lilith has done? It felt like sometimes she couldn’t even enjoy setting off a prank in class because her first reaction would be to tell her sister, who was no longer by her side. Lilith was just this never-ending cloud of darkness that sucked in the light around her. Eda hated she couldn’t escape it.</p><p>It hurt to know that their strong bond was shattered, but sometimes it felt like the detachment from Lilith was what Eda needed. There wasn’t constant criticism for ideas that Lilith considered reckless or endless pestering to do the pointless assignments that would be due the following day. Lilith wasn’t over her shoulder dictating her life, or trying to pull her onto a path the younger witch had no interest in joining. </p><p>Heck, all this time without her sister’s influence allowed her to experiment with forces she shouldn’t be mentioning, and only made her more certain that joining a coven when she finished school wasn’t what she wanted for herself. </p><p>With the lack of Lilith praising the education system, Eda found that she was excited to go to school... for the sole purpose of being able to do whatever the hell she wanted with little to no consequence…but only if she managed to avoid Bump, who unfortunately sent her to detention after school for an hour due to an incident getting out of control with her involvement.</p><p>“You know why you’re here, don’t you?” Bump asked as she shot him a pointed glare.</p><p>“Because some snitches decided to run their mouths,” Eda hissed as she slumped in her chair.</p><p>“Is everything alright, Edalyn?” She almost laughed at how concerned he sounded about her. </p><p>
  <em> Hmm, let’s see. I was cursed in my sleep. People think I’m a monster. Turns out I have to grow up faster than I wanted to. Also, some idiots think that just because I’m cursed that I won’t send them into next week. Oh, and did I mention Lilith and I are no longer on speaking terms? </em>
</p><p>“Of course everything is fine.” She huffed as she crossed her arms, “Why wouldn’t everything be fine?” </p><p>“Because your hands are gripping your arms as you sit here, failing to lie to me.”</p><p>“Are you going to lecture me and send me to detention or are we going directly to the yelling?” </p><p>“This is serious.”</p><p>“I doubt it. The worst injury was a-”</p><p>“I don’t mean the fight that happened today at lunch.”</p><p>“Then... what?”</p><p>“Edalyn. What happened to you months ago was-”</p><p>
  <em> You don't know. You would never understand.  </em>
</p><p>“I rather not talk about it.”</p><p>“Ah, we’re still angry.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, what?”</p><p>“Aren’t you tired of being angry all the time?” </p><p>“I have every right to be angry. Don’t you dare try and convince me otherwise,” Eda spat. She knew Bump had no way of knowing what happened, but Titan help him if he suggested to forgive and forget or anything that Lilith did. </p><p>“Yes, but your anger is directed at a situation you had no control over.” </p><p>“Someone cursed me.”</p><p>
  <em> My sister to be more specific.  </em>
</p><p>“And what does your anger do for them, hm?” Bump clasped his hands behind his back as he stood from his desk. “The only person being hurt by your anger is you.”</p><p>“What?” The witchling blinked up in surprise and her defense fell. </p><p>“Think about it, Eda.” Bump sighed. “You can hate them, and be angry at them, but does it affect them in the way that you want it to? No. It doesn’t. Yes, you have a right to be angry, but staying angry at whoever cursed you is not going to help.”</p><p>
  <em> But if I’m not angry then Lilith wins. I can’t let her win.  </em>
</p><p>“I don’t know what else to do,” she admitted softly. </p><p>“You need to forgive the situation. Not for them, not because I told you to, but for you. The first step is learning to make peace with it.” </p><p>“They don’t deserve my forgiveness.” </p><p>“Forgiving is a process. It’s to release your hold on the bitterness and resentment so that you can move forward. You don’t want to stay angry forever do you?” </p><p>Eda sat still for a moment, weighing Bump’s question in her mind.</p><p>
  <em> Being mad at Lilith doesn’t do anything to her. She doesn’t care how I feel. And I want to be able to start enjoying life...not just as a way to show off. I want to be able to feel happy again. </em>
</p><p>“No.”  </p><hr/><p>Lilith knew that what she was doing was not the best course of action to take. She understood that her choices could eventually hurt her in the long run, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when she had a goal, a purpose, to work toward.</p><p>She could only stare at the withered plant that was full of life just seconds ago. Whatever she just created was not a solution to the curse. </p><p>
  <em> But what if it was? </em>
</p><p>She forced her eyes away from the dead plant and glanced at the vial full of black liquid in her hand.</p><p>
  <em> Is it worth it? After all, it killed the plant...but remember, the biology is completely different. What if it works? No-it's dangerous. But victory requires sacrifice.  </em>
</p><p>Her eyes narrowed as she ran the calculations in her mind. Best case scenario, it would get rid of the curse. The second-best outcome consisted of the potion doing nothing and she would have to mark it as another epic fail. Worst case scenario would be her ending up dead like the plant on her desk. Still, she weighed the odds and sighed. </p><p><em> You’ll never know until you try. </em> </p><p>Turquoise eyes of determination stared at the vial. It was a risk, no doubt, but it didn't matter. She uncorked the top, and despite the ominous color, the witch brought it closer to her face. </p><p>"Lilith!" The sudden pounding on her door, caused her to jump in surprise and the vial slipped from her hands. She heard the glass shatter and could only stare blankly at the dark liquid spreading across her desk that was beginning to stain...no. The wood was darkening at an alarming rate. It wasn’t staining.  </p><p>
  <em> It killed the plant...and rotted the wood of my desk.  </em>
</p><p>"Lilith?" Eda's voice and the pounding on the door were suddenly more frantic but the only thing she could do was stare with wide turquoise eyes at her desk. </p><p><em> It would’ve killed me </em>. </p><p>"Lilith?!" The door slammed open, and the older witch snapped her head up to see Eda’s wide eyes. The older witch felt her stomach twist as her younger sister stormed over and began to start asking questions about the shattered glass that easily faded into the background. Her eyes traveled back to her desk and narrowed at the multiple shards of her vial.</p><p>
  <em> It's broken. I dropped it. I was going to...oh. </em>
</p><p>"Oh, Titan." Lilith felt her blood run cold as Eda continued to shout at her about the lack of response. Something sucked the air from her lungs and the blood began to pound in her ears as she came to the most terrifying realization. </p><p>"Lilith-"</p><p>"I was going to test it." The words seemed to stab her in the chest. She knew that if Eda had arrived a few seconds later, she would’ve already drunk her concoction...and Eda would've found her older sister dead on the floor...with no way to bring her back. </p><p><em> I need to stop. I would've died and Eda would have to pick up the pieces. I can't put her through that. </em> </p><p>"Test whatever the heck killed your desk?" Eda's cautious but the snarky tone pulled the older witch from her mind. She didn’t miss how her younger sister eyed everything with precision to put the pieces together. </p><p>"I need your help." Lilith knew she was deflecting but she needed to take care of the massive issue at hand. </p><p>
  <em> I can’t do this alone. </em>
</p><p>"You need my help," Eda repeated as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Lilith didn't miss the skepticism or the irritation. </p><p>
  <em> Yes. If I do this alone I'll destroy myself because I don't know what else to do.  </em>
</p><p>"I-"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm not helping you do whatever," the younger witch motioned to the desk, "this is." </p><p>
  <em> Oh, my dear sister. I need your help with something much worse. </em>
</p><p>"Not with that," Lilith shook her head as she dove for her bag by the desk. </p><p>"Oh?"</p><p>"I need your help to <em> destroy </em>it," The older witch pulled out a book and a smaller notebook.  </p><p>"What is it?" Eda asked as she took the two items from her sibling.</p><p>"Research."</p><p>"On the curse?"</p><p>"My experiments."</p><p>"Experiments?"</p><p>"I found a potion recipe in my hunt for information on curses...it’s old and half the words are faded. To put it simply, it's a temporary transformation potion."</p><p>"And you've been trying to reverse the intention of the potion."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"And judging by the fact I'm learning of this now, I take it you're failing."</p><p>"I've had some promising results," Lilith defended weakly as crossed her arms. </p><p>"Like the one that rotted your-wait." Eda's eyes went wide as she noticed the dead plant on her sister’s desk. Lilith swore her younger sister’s eyes were probably looking through her soul. "What exactly have you been testing it on?"</p><p>"The weeds in the front yard," the older witch shrugged but the tension in her shoulders gave it away. </p><p>"Did you ever test your experiments on yourself?" It was a loaded question, and Eda raised an eyebrow. </p><p>
  <em> She knows me too well.  </em>
</p><p>Lilith could only offer silence and her younger sister sighed in response. </p><p>"You idiot pumpkin," Eda scolded and rubbed her temples. “Alright. Grab whatever it is we need to blow and I get to commit arson with permission.”</p><p>Lilith wasn’t sure what was the cause of her smile. It was either the fact her younger sister was willing to talk with her and willing to go along with the sudden plan to destroy massive amounts of research and notes or the way Eda’s eyes went comically wide at the armful of notebooks that Lilith dumped on her desk. But what mattered was the fact Eda was with her when Lilith piled everything outside. </p><p>“You sure you wanna do this?” Eda asked uneasily as they stared down at the unsettling amount of notebooks. </p><p>
  <em> If I don’t do it now, I never will. </em>
</p><p>“Yeah,” Lilith nodded her head and schooled her features as she met her younger sister’s eyes. “This is something I need to do.”</p><p>The two sisters drew a circle in the air and Lilith ignored the wave of nausea that washed over her. She hated casting magic due to how much it seemed to take out of her now and did her best to hide it with an icy look. But that’s probably what she deserved for months worth of all-nighters, skipping meals, and pushing all her problems away. Exhaustion was not fun.</p><p> Eda must’ve seen her slip up because there was suddenly a hand on her shoulder and concern hidden in her mismatched eyes. Something in Lilith’s stomach turned at the gesture and the older witch had to keep herself from flinching. </p><p>“Are you sure you’re okay?” The younger witch’s eyes were searching for something and Lilith didn’t know what. </p><p>
  <em> It’s nice she still cares, even though I don’t deserve it. </em>
</p><p>“It’s fine.” Lilith’s eyes had found the ground and the words hung in the air. </p><p>
  <em> Lair.  </em>
</p><p>“Sure.” Eda scoffed with a skeptical tone before gently nudging her sister, “Look.” </p><p>Lilith watched as the blue and golden flames danced around the pile of her research and the bright embers that began to ascend into the night sky seemed to take her hope with them. The two flames drew closer and it didn’t take long for them to become a single gigantic green blaze. </p><p>The bright green inferno brought a warmth inside her that seemed to melt the walls of ice she had built around herself. Everything she had devoted herself to was gone. </p><p>“It’s all gone,” Lilith whispered and Eda had only a split second to turn her head before Lilith’s legs gave out. </p><p>
  <em> No. Nonononono. </em>
</p><p>“Lilith!”</p><p>“It’s gone. It’s gone. It’s all gone.” The older witch shook her head violently as she brought her hands to muffle her sobs.</p><p>“Lilith?” Eda asked as she gently gripped her sister’s shoulder. Lilith slowly pried her eyes from the green flames and stared into the mismatched eyes of her younger sister.</p><p>“What did I just do?” If there was a shake in Lilith’s voice, neither mentioned it. The older witch’s eyes found the bright blaze again and Eda could only offer a sympathetic shoulder squeeze.  Just like that, it was gone. All of it. All her efforts had gone up into literal flames. </p><p>
  <em> What am I supposed to do now? </em>
</p><hr/><p>It hurt. Everything hurt. Her body was exhausted because the adrenaline high and pure stress that lasted for months finally came crashing down. This morning her illusion, the one that hid away the bags, bloodshot eyes, and the visible signs of fatigue had slowly faded away. Her magic was significantly weaker and she considered herself lucky that the spell that hid her grey eye and streak was barely holding on by a thread. </p><p>However, the demons she pushed to the back of her mind were crawling forward. They were ready to sink their claws into whatever parts of her mind that they could and drag her down with them. </p><p>
  <em> I deserve it.  </em>
</p><p>"What I did was unforgivable," Lilith whispered aloud as she curled into a ball in the corner of her room. "I couldn't even find a cure." </p><p>
  <em> I'm pathetic.  </em>
</p><p>"I destroyed the only thing that gave me a purpose." </p><p>
  <em> And I wasn't strong enough to reach it.  </em>
</p><p>"I can't fix it."</p><p>
  <em> I'll never be good enough.  </em>
</p><p>"I cursed my baby sister. She doesn't trust me." </p><p>
  <em> Because I'm selfish. I'm terrible. I destroy everything good around me.  </em>
</p><p>"I ruined her life."</p><p>
  <em> Because I'm a monster. </em>
</p><p>She could only stare in awe at the black feather that appeared on her arm. Her eyes lazily glanced over it before she plucked it out. </p><p>
  <em> Not right now. Please.  </em>
</p><p>Two more feathers took place on her arm. She plucked those out too. </p><p>Four feathers suddenly materialized on her arm and Lilith's eyes shot open. She grabbed the handful of feathers and ignored the way it stung. </p><p>
  <em> No. Nonononono. I can't do this right now.  </em>
</p><p>When the rest came and her bones rearranged themselves to accommodate her wings, she didn't scream. Not like Eda had. Eda's scream was one of pain. Lilith let the wail of despair claw its way up until her throat felt raw.</p><hr/><p>Eda knew the exact moment something was wrong when she heard screams of bloody murder from the Cafeteria about a monster attacking the school. Students had been fleeing from something that wasn't her prank that she set up in the bathrooms. </p><p>Call it impulse, but she ran toward the commotion and heard shouts about the Grudgby field and something along the lines of sending Bump flying. Whatever the monster was, it was dangerous. </p><p>It was a stupid idea, and if Lilith was here, and not at home sick, her older sister would’ve dragged her by the hood to common sense. Because if something managed to send Bump flying across campus like a ragdoll, then the smartest decision would be to stay away. However, it also meant that there was <em> something </em> strong enough to send Bump <em> flying </em>...and Eda couldn’t wait to see what it was. </p><p>The side doors of the school, the ones that lead out to the field, slammed open, and the young witch ignored the burning in her lungs from sprinting the entire way.</p><p>“You have got to be kidding me,” Eda inhaled sharply as her eyes widened. She took a step back, breath caught in her throat, as she tried to process the scene in front of her.</p><p>This...this was the stuff that nightmares were made of. Coven members, Eda counted at least five with two passed out on the floor, were restraining the monster. The monster itself was <em> screaming </em>. Whatever the coven members were doing, they were hurting the beast. Feathers were falling on the ground at an alarming rate and Eda swore that they were going to kill the beast if she didn't do something.</p><p>It was odd, finding herself more scared for the gigantic looking raven-</p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh, no.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> You can't be serious.  </em>
</p><p>“Hey!” Eda had a split second to react before she felt a harsh grip on her wrist and yanked to the left. "You can't be here, it's dangerous."</p><p>
  <em> And if you don't let go of me, it most certainly will be. You're not taking her away from me. </em>
</p><p>"Let me go," Eda narrowed her eyes at the coven member that was still gripping her arm. "Trust me when I say that I'm not the one in danger here." </p><p>"No." The witch's eyes widened when she found herself being harshly pulled toward the school. "We don't need-"</p><p>Whatever the sentence was, it would never be finished. The beast had broken free, and in retaliation, swatted the coven member into the school. Eda starred, gobsmacked, and ignored the huff of satisfaction behind her.</p><p>
  <em> So this is what it feels like. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> No. No, this is different. </em>
</p><p>This was completely different from what Eda had gone through months ago. Eda knew her transformation was one from fear and shock. This...this wasn't fear or anything remotely close to that. The beast came to her. </p><p>The witch slowly pulled her eyes away from the unmoving body of the coven member and turned around to face the monster with a teary look of concern. "Lilith."</p><p>
  <em> You came looking for me. Why? </em>
</p><p>Lilith's eyes weren't bloodthirsty or scared. They were black, which easily reminded Eda of the void and the figure that came with the void. It had gotten Lilith too. </p><p>"Hey, sis." Eda released a shaking breath, "I know being a gigantic fluffy bird monster sucks, so why don't we take care of this, yeah?" She stepped forward and fear shot her in the heart when Lilith stepped back, "You and me, we can fix this."</p><p>
  <em> We can fix this if you let me. </em>
</p><p>A soft huff escaped her sister, and everything froze when something soft brushed against Eda's face. It was as if Lilith was apologizing...apologizing for something she was about to do.</p><p>
  <em> That's why you're here. That's why you came looking for me. You're about to do something stupid.  </em>
</p><p>Lilith stepped away from her sister and turned around intending to never look back. </p><p>
  <em> You're about to run off. About to leave me. You came to say goodbye. </em>
</p><p>"NO!" Eda shrieked and lost all regard to common sense as her legs moved to run after her sister. Lilith wasn't safe. She couldn't let Lilith hurt herself. </p><p>
  <em> Please let this work. </em>
</p><p>By some miracle, her silent prayer was heard as she managed to jump onto Lilith’s back. Thankfully, Lilith's wings were unharmed, however, the sudden weight on Lilith’s back startled her and Lilith took off flying. </p><p>"No! Lilith! Stop!" Lilith either couldn’t hear her or was still recovering from the scare because Eda found herself desperately clinging to her transformed sister with tears of fear brimming her eyes as Lilith flew higher and faster.</p><p>
  <em> This would be so much more fun if I wasn't scared out of my mind.  </em>
</p><p>"Lilith, you birdbrain!" Eda screamed as she gently tapped the feathers by her foot, "Put us back on the ground!" </p><p>Lilith, in response, had done a sharp turn and continued to fly higher, causing Eda to lose her grip and she found herself starting to slide off the left side of her sister. </p><p>With the surge of panic, the witch desperately tried to claw her way back up for stability. </p><p>
  <em> I'm going to fall. </em>
</p><p>Eda’s eyes were blown wide and she could feel herself slipping. Gravity seemed to wrap itself around her and pull her down. Her hands were starting to slide down the side of the gigantic raven, and the wind was harsh against her face which made it harder to see. </p><p>Despite her best efforts, she lost the fight. "LILY!"</p><hr/><p>It was honestly all a blur. Eda remembered falling and screaming...and some cursing before everything had gone dark. </p><p><em> I should be dead </em>. </p><p>Yet, here she was, alive, and on something very soft. It reminded her of her sister’s favorite blanket. <em> Her sister. </em></p><p>"Lilith?" She felt rather than heard the soft huff of concern. </p><p>
  <em> You caught me.  </em>
</p><p>This time, sliding off the gigantic raven wasn't going to be met with a fall to impending doom. Plus, Lilith seemed calm so flying off again was unlikely. </p><p>
  <em> Wow.  </em>
</p><p>Eda had to pause for a moment in front of her sister. The last time Lilith looked this guilty was when she confessed to being the one to curse Eda. </p><p>
  <em> I know you know you messed up. But you aren't the only one, sis. </em>
</p><p>"Okay," the witch sighed and reached into her hair to pull out an Elixir bottle and shoved it into Lilith’s mouth, "we need to talk." </p><p>The amount of relief Eda felt the second Lilith’s bright curls returned and the feathers left could never be put into words. All caution had been thrown to the wind when Eda wrapped her arms around her older sister and held her in a tight embrace for a few seconds before pulling back. </p><p>However, Lilith looked dead. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face whiter than a piece of paper, and the addition of the matching grey streak of hair and mismatched eyes only added to the look. </p><p>"Freaking hell, are you okay?" Eda couldn't hide the fear in her voice. </p><p>
  <em> What the heck did this to you? </em>
</p><p>"What do you think?" It wasn't harsh. Lilith's tone was too soft to be harsh or bitter. She sounded tired. </p><p>"That you would probably lie to hide the damage anyways." The younger witch shook her head. "I mean, the curse-." </p><p>"This isn't because of the curse, Edalyn." Lilith's eyes were glued to the dirt in front of them and Eda swore her heart stopped. </p><p>"Why?" She wanted to be mad. She wanted to strangle her older sister for putting her in this position but she knew she couldn't. Lilith had hidden this from her. "Did you honestly think I wasn't going to care?"</p><p>
  <em> You should know me better than that. </em>
</p><p>"It got out of hand." Lilith shrugged with disinterest, "I was too busy focusing on the curse."</p><p>
  <em> That's why you nearly passed out when we burned your research. Because you've been draining yourself. </em>
</p><p>"How long?"</p><p>
  <em> How long have you kept this from me? </em>
</p><p>"I'd say around the time I confessed." </p><p><em> Months. Lilith had been destroying herself for months and I never noticed. </em> </p><p>"Why didn't you tell me? I could’ve helped. I could’ve done so-"</p><p>"You had your own problems to deal with. Problems <em>I</em> created. It would be wrong to drag you down with me." </p><p>Eda knew that the curse had, in more ways than one, split them apart and it wasn’t uncommon for them to shut each other out. But the way Lilith’s voice seemed to soften as if she was claiming defeat caused the younger witch’s heart to drop into her stomach. Lilith had fought something and lost. She knew her older sister wasn’t licking her wounds to come back and fight. Not in the slightest. And it terrified her.</p><p>"You should’ve told me." </p><p>
  <em> Because we've seen how well everything goes when you keep stuff from me. </em>
</p><p>“You seem awfully concerned for someone who hates me,” Lilith sneered with her voice like ice. "And if I recall correctly, you told me to get out of your life before I could ruin it further."</p><p>
  <em> No. Not this time. You don't get to push me away now. Not after everything.  </em>
</p><p>"You're my sister." </p><p>"I'm a monster."</p><p>"Turning into a freaking raven does not make you a monster." Eda scoffed and attempted a joke, "Which probably means you got half of the pizza slice with the pepperoni." Lilith didn't laugh. "Look, you are not a monster. If transforming makes you a monster, then that makes me one too."</p><p>"You don't get it, Edalyn. I am a monster." Lilith's eyes found hers and it was disturbing to see how lifeless they were. "I could feel the rage when I was transformed. I sent Bump across the field and attacked the members of the Emperor’s Coven, not for the first time, and the worst part is, I knew what I was doing. I wanted to see them hurt. I enjoyed hurting them." Lilith's eyes narrowed. "What makes me a monster is the fact that I hurt people. You...you never hurt anyone." </p><p>"I hurt you."</p><p>"It's not the same. Plus, I deserved it."</p><p>"I put the idea in your head."</p><p>"You were confirming what I already knew was true."</p><p>"But it wasn't until I said it did you believe it."</p><p>"Stop trying to spin this so you can take the blame." </p><p>"But this is what we do."</p><p>"<em>What</em>?"</p><p>Eda never felt so helpless. Here was her older sister breaking in front of her and Eda wanted more than anything to take away Lilith’s pain but she couldn’t. Lilith had numbed the pain to the point where it hurt more now that she could finally feel it.  This wasn’t the type of pain that could be split in half, and even if she could, she feared Lilith would never forgive her for it. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t try. </p><p>"You always split my pain." Eda couldn't help the shake in her voice, "Let me split yours." </p><p>
  <em> Let me help you.  </em>
</p><p>"No." Lilith shook her head and got to her feet. The conversation was over...for now. "We need to get back to the house. It's going to get dark soon and being out here is dangerous." </p><p>"Yeah, you're right." </p><p>They had walked in silence for a total of thirty seconds before Lilith turned to her. </p><p>"Eda...thanks." </p><hr/><p>Eda sighed as she stared down at the chair in front of her, and loosened her grip as she gently moved it to the side so she could open her door. The witch silently walked down the hall with a single destination in mind to spend her restless night. She drew closer to the closed door, light peeking through the bottom, and knocked. </p><p>There was a tense moment of silence, and Eda considered turning back to her room when the door suddenly opened. Lilith, dressed in a black sweater and leggings, raised an eyebrow but said nothing when her younger sister entered the room and shut the door behind her. Eda shrugged at the questioning look and flopped onto the floor near Lilith’s bed. The younger witch patted the space near her, inviting her older sister to do the same. </p><p>Lilith, on her part, narrowed her eyes in confusion as she ran the calculations through her mind before sighing. She sat near her sister, who laid on the floor with her eyes shut. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, each debating how to start a conversation. </p><p>"You mentioned something I've been meaning to ask you," Eda said, her eyes still closed. </p><p>"And that would be?" Lilith probed, playing with a strand of her hair.</p><p>"You said something about today not being the first time you attacked the coven members." The smirk on her face was unable to remain hidden. </p><p>"Oh, <em> that </em>," Eda swore she heard a chuckle escape her sister. "The day of the contest, after you transformed, I had tried to go after you. I was prevented from doing so and I attacked them in response."</p><p>"That's why everyone's scared of you," Eda’s eyes shot open as the impact of the words hit her. "Hold the hell up." She sat up and stared wide-eyed at her sister, "They <em> stopped </em> you from going after <em> your sister </em>who had just undergone a traumatic experience in front of everyone? And now what, everyone sees you as a threat because you attacked them to get to me?"</p><p>To say Eda was confused was an understatement. First, she's convinced herself that Lilith was a bad person, a monster, for her actions, now she's finding out her sister had no problem attacking very powerful people to defend her. Honestly, it was a headache trying to cement her decision on how she viewed her sister. </p><p>"Probably. I did make one go flying," there was a shrug, "I don't regret it though."</p><p>"You shouldn’t." </p><p>"I don't regret swatting the one from today either."</p><p>"Speaking of today…"</p><p>"Edalyn-"</p><p>"You were trying to say goodbye to me, weren't you? That's why you came to the school."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"You were going to leave me?"</p><p>"I didn't want to hurt you-"</p><p>"And you thought leaving was the best way to deal with that?!"</p><p>"If I was gone, then I couldn't hurt you ever again."</p><p>"What made you think that?"</p><p>"I'm a threat. You have every right to be-"</p><p>"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!" Eda huffed as she angrily wiped at her eyes, "I <em>never</em> wanted you to leave."</p><p>Silence fell upon them, reminding the two sisters of everything else that needed to be said. </p><p>"You know...I'm sorry." Might as well get the heavy stuff out of the way first. </p><p>"For?" The younger witch raised an eyebrow as she flopped back onto the floor. She found it almost weird to be at peace in her sister’s presence. </p><p>"Hurting you."</p><p>"You never really hurt me besides the whole <em> turning my sister into an owl accidentally </em>."</p><p>"Eda-"</p><p>"No, I'm serious. You didn't know what the curse was going to do, you split the curse with like no hesitation, and today, when I was being pulled you swatted a bonehead into the wall to protect me."</p><p>"I also nearly killed you."</p><p>"You saw me as a threat and reacted accordingly. All I did was slip."</p><p>"Because of something I did."</p><p>"But you caught me, so it cancels out."</p><p>"You're impossible."</p><p>"I believe the word you're searching for is amazing."</p><p>"Okay then, let me rephrase it. I'm sorry for cursing you." There was a sigh and Lilith leaned back on her hands. "It wasn't because I hated you. I didn't mean to change you into a gigantic fluffy owl, but I did, and as you said, it hurt you, and I'm sorry." </p><p>"Oh?" This was new information. However, as much as she wanted to snap at Lilith for bringing up that subject, Eda found herself the energy lacking to. </p><p>"Yeah...umm…" Lilith gave an uneasy huff, "It's just as bad…." She forced herself to continue when Eda blinked, staring at her with big eyes that reminded her of a small animal. "I only meant to curse you so it would take your powers away for a day. <em> So I could beat you </em>." </p><p>"Wait…" Eda blinked as she sat up. "That's it?" She deadpanned, "I turned into an owl because you couldn't even curse me <em> correctly </em>?" </p><p>"Edalyn…" Lilith sighed deeply as she rubbed her temples. "WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? THIS ISN'T FUNNY."</p><p>"Because you had one job and <em> failed </em> ," Eda cackled as she was near hysterical. "How in the hell do you mess up so badly that a curse that's supposed to <em> restrict my powers for a day </em> ends up turning me into a <em> gigantic owl </em>?" </p><p>"I can't believe that's what you're focusing on." </p><p>"After everything, I think we have the right to make fun of it." </p><p>“Maybe later.." Lilith shifted uneasily, "I um… I know you pull the chair under your door at night.”</p><p>“I-”</p><p>“I’m sorry I caused you to do that. I'm sorry I made you afraid.”</p><p>"I'm not scared of you anymore. Knowing what I know...I think you're more scared of hurting me to do something like that again." </p><p>"True...but I'm still sorry." </p><p>"I know-"</p><p>"No...I mean...I'm sorry I couldn't find a cure. I want to take it all, and if I could I would, but the best I could do was take a part of it." </p><p>Eda narrowed her eyes slightly. This has been the most open her sister’s been since before <em> the incident </em>. Perhaps, it was Lilith's attempt at mending a bridge between them or maybe her apologizing because Eda was finally willing to hear it. Or maybe...Lilith was tired too. </p><p>"You didn't have to do that you know," Eda said softly and refused to meet her sister’s eyes. </p><p>"I'm sorry?" </p><p>"Splitting the curse. I never would’ve asked you to do that."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"You act like splitting this is like some huge understatement." Eda huffed as she leaned back on her hands, "I don't think you realize how much worse it could be."</p><p>"I doubt it could," Lilith scoffed as she moved to lay on her stomach. </p><p>"Well...I mean you could've let me stay a freaking owl or join Belos' bonehead gang," The younger witch shrugged. “I could’ve torn you to pieces and stayed massively traumatized. You could've turned into The Raven and both of us would be stuck. Or I could've been hunted down for being labeled as a monster, which would probably end with-”  </p><p>"Eda!” Lilith glared at her, “Thank you for those <em> wonderful </em>nightmare fuel ideas.”</p><p>"Just saying, worst-case scenario." </p><p>“You listed several."</p><p>"There could be more than one."</p><p>"Fair."</p><p>"Why didn't you tell me anything?" Eda questioned and Lilith was grateful for the topic change. "More specifically, why didn't you ever tell me you were looking for a way to cure it?" </p><p>"I figured that if I found a concrete solution,  we could exploit it together," Lilith shrugged before frowning. "I didn't tell you so you wouldn't get your hopes up...I know dealing with the curse isn’t easy." </p><p>"I've learned to live with it." It would be different if Eda was the only one cursed, but Lilith understood in a way no one else could. "But you haven't."</p><p>"I'm fine, Edalyn." </p><p>"You're sitting across from me, looking like death, because you refused to take care of yourself which led to you transforming into a gigantic raven, and that was due to you forgetting to take your weekly amount of elixir." </p><p>"I'm as fine as I can be."</p><p>"That's a lie." Eda sighed, "Please...just talk to me." </p><p>Eda blinked as her sister took interest in the floor. Lilith's eyes were dull...tired, but the intensity that was adamant on burning a hole in the ground meant Lilith had too many ideas swirling around in her head. Ideas that Eda wouldn’t know. Lilith didn't tell her things anymore. The last thing Eda could recall was Lilith's confession regarding the curse. </p><p>"I keep messing up." There was a bitter tone as the tired witch began to rant. "I tried to curse you to take away your powers and instead I turned you into a damn owl." Lilith stood up and began pacing. "I tell you that I cursed you to relieve myself of guilt and only end up feeling more guilty than before." Shaking hands flew up into her hair. "Tried taking matters into my own hands by attempting to alter potions that shouldn’t have been messed with and nearly killed myself with my experiments." Lilith paused and slowly turned her head to her younger sister, who was staring back at her with a blank expression. "And here I am thinking that if I found a way to heal the curse if I could fix that mistake...I could fix what broke between us...and yet all it did was drive you away." </p><p>"At least you were trying. Thank you for that. But I shut you out." </p><p>"You had every right to." </p><p>"I mean...yeah, I've been mad at you for a while." Eda sighed as she continued to stare up at Lilith's ceiling. "I'm tired." </p><p>"Oh?"</p><p>"Yeah...I'm sick of no longer being able to be happy. I want to be able to sit by you and not wanna turn your hair purple to spite you." The younger Clawthorne stood up, "I'm sorry."</p><p>“You don’t need to-”</p><p>“I do.” There was a bitter chuckle, “You’re not the only one who messed up.”</p><p>“Eda-”</p><p>"I'm sorry I never noticed."</p><p>"It's fine."</p><p>"It's really not."</p><p>"Calamity-"</p><p>"Look, Birdbrain, I live with you. I should’ve seen the signs. I didn't know that you were destroying yourself-"</p><p>"I didn't want you to worry."</p><p>"You're my sister. I have reasons to worry...because I need you, Lily. You're all I have left."</p><p>"Why do you think I decided to burn my research? I almost made a decision that would've left you alone. I couldn't put you through that." </p><p>"True. But thank you for letting me help you with that."</p><p>"Maybe I should let you help more often." </p><p>Eda smiled. Lilith was finally letting her in. </p><p>“I’m sorry...for calling you a monster. I didn't mean it. A monster wouldn’t feel bad about everything. I’m also sorry for acting like such a prick...I’m actually surprised you tolerated it for so long.”</p><p>“You needed time to cope.”</p><p>“I wasn’t coping.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“Look...you’re the only one who is going to understand what I'm going through. And...I never paused to think about how you were feeling on your side cuz I was just mad all the time. I'm sorry for putting you through this." </p><p>"Don't apologize for my choices." </p><p>"I'm not apologizing for what you did. I'm apologizing because I took my anger out on you." Eda sighed as she sat back on the floor and withheld a smile when Lilith followed suit. "It's something I need to work on. Being angry at you did nothing but make me miserable. So maybe if I work on forgiveness, it'll-"</p><p>"I don't want you to forgive me. What I did to you is unforgivable. I don't deserve your for-"</p><p>"I'm not forgiving you to make you feel better. I'm doing this for me...cuz I'm sick of being angry and I want to move forward. You should too."</p><p>"What do you suggest I forgive, Eda? The fact I was a coward? That I-"</p><p>"Yourself. You messed up. You can't change it, Lily. We got to move forward." </p><p>“You’re right." Lilith nodded sadly and Eda noted how her sister suddenly became a lot lighter despite the somber tone. "That's all we can do."</p><p>“We’re not <em> good </em>...but...we’re gonna get there, right?”</p><p>“Right," Lilith smiled softly as she leaned back and played with her grey strand. "I don't plan on hiding anymore so I guess that means that us weirdos are sticking together." </p><p>"Really?" Eda smirked as she nudged her older sister, "You mean that? Kinda sappy even for you."</p><p>"I will take it back, Calamity."</p><p>"Whatever you say, Birdbrain."</p><p>It took almost a full minute for the laughter to die down and both sisters laid on the floor staring up at the ceiling. It was definitely odd. Sitting and having a conversation that wasn't meant the tear the other one into pieces and push them away. There was just this overwhelming sense of peace and for once, Eda had a feeling that the worst of it was over. It was as if they had avoided something catastrophic. The bright sparkle that seemed to glitter in Lilith's mismatched eyes filled the younger witch with a sense of hope. They weren't what they used to be...and may never be that way again, but they had time to grow.</p><p>"Hey, Lily?"</p><p>"Yes, Eda?"</p><p>"Love you."</p><p>"Love you too."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So after three months, 8 rewrites, 32 pages on google docs, and a word vomit document that had 22,700 words that I pulled so many ideas from, I can say that this story is complete. </p><p>So I am planning another chapter even though I'm saying this is done. The reason why I decided to add another chapter, is to kinda do a montage to sorta speed run to when canon takes place. So basically a whole chapter worth of snippets that consist of a more healthy Lilith and stronger Eda growing up...well into adulthood. You don't need to read that chapter (once I finish it) to complete the story. </p><p>But the reason I say this is complete is cuz I told the story I wanted to tell with these two chapters. I played with the concept of Lilith splitting the curse early and confessing here instead of like 30 something odd years later. I wanted to play with the idea of how Eda would react and how Lilith would probably handle the entire situation. Plus, I wanted to kinda mess with the concept of how differently their sisterhood would be if they had just sat down and talked to each other. Honestly, writing this was very fun and I hope that those of you who got gut-punched the last chapter, got a nice big hug with the ending of this chapter. </p><p>The next installment that I'm planning is a sorta rewrite of canon events. So how would the first season go if Lilith had been there from the start (right alongside Eda). Which, so far is kinda fun to mess around with, but I don't know when I'll be able to post that. </p><p>Anyways, thanks for sticking around for the ride and I hoped you enjoyed this story as much as I did!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Bonus Chapter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, here's the technical final chapter. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me on this ride and I hope to see you all again on the next installment! </p>
<p>The sole purpose of this chapter is to wrap up a few loose ends, some last-minute Lily development, answering the question of Lilith is going to join a coven, and some little more snippets of them growing up.</p>
<p>This chapter may be a little hard to follow considering how many jumps I did, but note that the first half of this chapter is set during Lilith's last year at Hexside, two years from when Chapter 1 took place.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You gotta be kidding me,” Lilith sighed as she rubbed her temples. She was in no mood to deal with the gigantic floof of a sister. How Eda even got into her room was beyond her understanding.</p>
<p>Eda, for her part, at least had the audacity to narrow her mismatched eyes in confusion...while somehow fitting her unreasonably large self onto Lilith’s bed. </p>
<p>“Alright, come on, off.” Lilith sighed again when Eda huffed. “Eda, off please, you’re getting feathers-is that a <em> spoon </em> ?” Another sigh, “Please tell me you did not raid the kitchen for- <em> wait </em>.” Eda was a gigantic owl at the moment, which meant that the bird tendencies would be easier to pinpoint. </p>
<p>“You did <em>not</em> claim <em>my bed</em> as <em>your</em> nest.” </p>
<p>Who knew owls could give shit-eating grins? </p>
<p>“This is payback, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>Lilith swore under her breath when Eda walked over, revealing the unbelievable amount of shiny objects on Lilith’s bed that easily fell onto the floor, and grabbed her by the hood and decided that it would be a good idea to take a nap while being a live weighted blanket. </p>
<p>“As soon as I get out of this, I’m shoving an elixir down your throat.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“No!” Eda scolded as she slapped the top of Lilith’s claw. She groaned before shoving Lilith’s feathery form out of the house and outside. Her sister seriously needed better coping methods to deal with stress.  </p>
<p>“We’ve talked about this, Lily. You can’t go plucking your feathers out.” Eda ignored the huff of disagreement. “I don’t care if it helps you relieve yourself of stress, it isn’t healthy!” </p>
<p>Lilith’s mismatched eyes narrowed in offense. </p>
<p>“Don’t give me that look,” Eda grumbled before tapping her sister’s side twice. Lilith let out a sigh before lowering herself so Eda could hop on. </p>
<p>“Hey, avoid the trees this time. If you get any more pine needles stuck in your floof, I am not helping you comb them out.” </p>
<p>Lilith gave a huff and Eda smirked, knowing that her older sister wouldn’t hurt her. </p>
<p>“Come on, Lily. The sooner we get you in the air, the sooner you’ll calm down and then we’ll get you back to normal.”</p>
<p>Another huff, but Lilith took off flying. </p>
<p>“Don’t huff at me, it was your idea for us to spend time in our cursed forms so we’re more comfortable with it. This is on you.”</p>
<p>It was almost comical when Lilith gave a softer, defeated, huff and Eda patted her sister’s feathers.</p>
<p>“Love you too, Lily.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Okay, I got a question,” Eda shifted uneasily as she glanced at her sister from across the lunch table and picked at her food, “does it feel any different knowing that this is your last year?”</p>
<p>“Considering that this time next year I won’t be sitting here, yes.” Lilith frowned before eating a forkful of salad, “Bittersweet, if I’m honest.”</p>
<p>“But like no big moment of like a weight being lifted off your shoulders?”</p>
<p>“Not really.”</p>
<p>“Huh…”</p>
<p>“Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>“Because I want to know if making it to the final year is worth it.”</p>
<p>Lilith’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’m sorry?”</p>
<p>“There’s just a lot of things I want to learn and…” Eda lowered her voice, “sneaking around secret passages to do so isn’t enough. What I want to learn, I can’t learn here.” Her ears dropped, “Is that bad?”</p>
<p>“No.” Maybe two years ago she would’ve shot down the idea but things were different now. “It’s understandable, honestly. You’re being suppressed. You’ve tried working your way around it but let me warn you now, it's a risk.” Lilith pointed the fork at her younger sister, “Those are very dangerous waters you want to swim in, and I know how you feel on the entire coven system idea. But, wait until you’re older before you cement any ideas.”</p>
<p>“You know I’ve made up my-”</p>
<p>“Not to change your mind. Because <em>then</em> I’ll be able to help you. I can’t help you right now. Does that make sense?”</p>
<p>“You’re going along with this?” Eda blinked in surprise, eyes wide. “You’re not going to tell me to join a coven for my own safety? Tell me that it’s stupid?”</p>
<p>“Eda, you made this decision two years ago when you decided not to fight me for the spot in the Emperor’s Coven.” Lilith shrugged and went back to taking an interest in her salad, “It would be foolish of me to attempt to sway you.”</p>
<p>“<em>Seriously</em>?”</p>
<p>“You made a decision, I have to respect it, even if I’m not in total agreement.” Eda’s ears dropped and Lilith pointed the fork in her direction once again, “<em>However</em>, that doesn’t mean I don’t support it.” </p>
<p>“Really?” Eda was not going to cry in the cafeteria on the first day back to school. She had a reputation to uphold. </p>
<p>“You’re my sister, Calamity.” Lilith smirked, “What kind of sister would I be if I didn’t support your life choices?”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Birdbrain. That means a lot.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>"You’ve been quiet," Eda sighed as she began braiding her older sister’s hair, "so on a scale of <em>I spilled ketchup on your favorite sweater</em>, to<em> I cursed you in your sleep</em>, how bad is it?" </p>
<p>“Did you seriously ask to braid my hair so you could drag me into a conversation?” Lilith huffed as she attempted to move out of Eda’s grasp.</p>
<p>“It seems to be working, so I don’t see the problem.” Eda’s tone was far too bright for Lilith’s liking. </p>
<p>“Eda-”</p>
<p>“Look, your hair is long as heck and we both know that I’m not going to drop this.” The younger witch was smirking in satisfaction that her plan worked. “So sister dear, you sit here and vent your heart out while I braid your hair.”</p>
<p>“This is unnecessary.”</p>
<p>“Considering the last time I left you alone, you managed to nearly drain yourself to the point where you couldn’t cast magic without feeling nauseous, <em> and</em>,” there was a gentle tug on Lilith’s hair, “you promised me that you wouldn’t get to that point ever again.” </p>
<p>“Fine.” They both knew Lilith was bad at coping with stress or any sort of emotional problems. It had gotten better, considering Lilith wasn’t closed off...well closed off around Eda. </p>
<p>“So are we on <em> I cursed you in your sleep </em>level or…”</p>
<p>“I’m just stressed. Nothing that reaches <em> The Scale of Mistakes</em>.” Lilith seemed to relax at the clarification. </p>
<p>“Exams aren’t until-”</p>
<p>“No, not that.”</p>
<p>“Grudgby?”</p>
<p>“Yep.”</p>
<p>“But you played last year, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>“It’s the fact that I’m going to be the captain that stresses me out.”</p>
<p>“Well,” Eda paused to unravel an uneven strand, “you got me. If the authority thing isn’t what-”</p>
<p>“No, it’s not that,” Lilith had to resist the urge to shake her head, “I’m not a leader.”</p>
<p>“Hey, Birdbrain, you were chosen to be captain for a reason.”</p>
<p>“Because I’m the oldest one on the team.”</p>
<p>“Not what I meant.” There was a huff, “Come on, Lily, we wouldn’t have picked you unless we were certain you could handle it.”</p>
<p>“I’m just scared of letting them all down.”</p>
<p>“Fair, but if you’re thinking of all the ways you’re going to fail then you probably will. Plus,” Eda paused to tie the hair tie at the end of Lilith’s braid, “you got me and the team to have your back as long as you got ours. Stop stressing over things when you have no idea how everything will play out.”</p>
<p>“When did you get so wise?” Lilith gave a soft chuckle.</p>
<p>“It came with the curse.” The younger witch had to duck away from the playful swat.</p>
<p>“No, I’m certain it came before that.”</p>
<p>“But seriously, Lily, I’m certain that you’re going to make a great captain.”</p>
<p>“You really think so?”</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“I need to ask you something,” Eda sighed as she combed through the tangles of Lilith’s hair. </p>
<p>“Do you want honesty or advice?” Lilith responded.  </p>
<p>“Honesty.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>“What’s going to happen to you?” It had been a question she’s been stuck pondering for the last two years. Lilith was cursed, just like her. Of course, back then it wasn’t a problem because other things were going on and Eda knew they had time. But the clock was ticking down to Lilith’s graduation and time seemed to be coming at them from all sides. </p>
<p>“What do you mean?” </p>
<p>“After graduation.” Now Eda understood why Lilith liked having something to do to keep her mind busy when dealing with topics that were hard to talk about. </p>
<p>“You want to know if I’m joining a coven.” Both of them refused to remark about Lilith grabbing the book off her desk. </p>
<p>“Are you?”</p>
<p>“No.” It should’ve surprised the older witch how easily the answer came. “How can I?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” </p>
<p>“The day of the <em>incident</em>, the coven members there threw rocks at you and called you a monster. When I transformed and came looking for you, I remember them trying to restrain me...because they saw me as one too.” Lilith’s eyes narrowed darkly at the front of her book, “I refuse to be a part of that. A part of a system that attacks innocents, like you.”</p>
<p>“Since when did you start hating covens?” </p>
<p>“The day I realized that they were willing to pit two sisters against each other for a spot in one. The Emperor’s Coven is a system that creates monsters, Eda. If I joined them, I would most definitely be one.” Lilith growled in irritation, “I’m not going to be the monster I once believed myself to be. I’m going to be better than that. I am better than that.”</p>
<p>“Damn right,” Eda smirked but the prideful feeling faded quickly. Lilith would be labeled as a wild witch...hunted down by the very coven she hates with all of her being. </p>
<p>“Stop worrying.” Lilith didn’t have to turn around to know.</p>
<p>“I’m not worrying.” </p>
<p>“You begin plotting when you’re worried.” </p>
<p>“I’m not plotting.”</p>
<p>“Not yet.” </p>
<p>“Okay, I’m a little bit worried.” Eda sighed and set down the comb that she nearly forgot about and ran a hand through her hair, “They’ll come for you.”</p>
<p>“You know what I’ve done. You know I have no problem making them go flying.” It wasn’t a reassurance, it was a reminder.</p>
<p>“But wild witches are never seen again if they’re captured.” Something in Eda’s stomach turned and she leaned forward to rest her head on top of her sister’s. “I don’t want that to happen to you.”</p>
<p>“It’s going to be-”</p>
<p>“I don’t want to be alone.” The words came out before Eda could stop them. It had been her biggest fear since the day she got cursed. Lilith was all she had left. Her friends had all abandoned her and even the ones she had now were only there to keep her from being lonely. She had more enemies than allies, and the only person that ever understood her and gave her unconditional support was at risk of being taken away from her. </p>
<p>“Eda,” Lilith sighed softly and moved to gather her sister in her arms. She ran a comforting hand through Eda’s hair and ignored the struggle to complete the action considering that the younger witch was just as tall as her. “Listen to me, I promise you that you will never be alone. I will always be here.”</p>
<p>“You can’t make that promise.” Eda’s eyes were wet and her ears fell as she held onto her older sister.</p>
<p>“I can if I mean it. You and I both know the lines that I’m willing to cross.” The younger witch chuckled softly. </p>
<p>“Don’t give me false hope.” She knew Lilith would do everything in her power to keep her promise. Her sister was an expert at tunnel vision, but even Lilith was no match for the dangers of the world around them. “Just promise me that we’ll stick together.”</p>
<p>“I promise.” </p>
<hr/>
<p>“You know…” Eda huffed as she flopped down onto the hard ground of the Grudgby field, “I think I should’ve thought this out more in retrospect.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t that Eda hated going to practice, she just hated going to practice when the sun decided to attempt to bake her alive. Plus, she also managed to blame the captain of the team, who was sitting beside her, for not agreeing that practice should be canceled for the day.</p>
<p>“Hang in there, Calamity, we got two more hours of practice,” Lilith smiled sympathetically, and ran a hand through her younger sister’s hair. </p>
<p>“<em>T</em><em>wo hours</em>?” Eda groaned and covered her face with her hands, “Lily, I love you, but I swear that I’m going to throw a Grudgby ball at your face.” </p>
<p>“Throw it at my face and I'll make you run laps." </p>
<p>"You suck." </p>
<p>"Yeah, I know." Lilith shrugged and moved to stand up, "I'll make it up to you. We can stop into town and grab some treats later." </p>
<p>"Yay." It was a sarcastic, pitiful, groan and Eda found herself being pulled to her feet. </p>
<p>"At least, drink some water," Lilith ordered, shoving a water bottle into her sister’s hand. </p>
<p>"Yes, yes.”</p>
<p>“I’m serious.”</p>
<p>“I know. And honestly, I swear, you are a totally different person when you’re in <em> Captain Mode</em>, Birdbrain.”</p>
<p>“Just because you’re the youngest on the team and my sister does not mean I’m going to give you perks."</p>
<p>"Oh, I am well aware of that." </p>
<p>"Then stop complaining."</p>
<p>"Shouldn't you be off with the coach drawing out plays or something?"</p>
<p>"Coach is taking a minute. Said to check in with the team to make sure no one's died."</p>
<p>"How generous." </p>
<p>"But, honestly, how are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Lily, I can handle myself."</p>
<p>"Not what I meant. You're known as a troublemaker. And I know you got some ideas you are itching to throw out but don't want to jeopardize your place on the team." </p>
<p>"Maybe…"</p>
<p>"Eda."</p>
<p>“Okay, but consider,” Eda pulled a small box out of her hair, “think of it as <em> break glass in case of emergency</em>.”</p>
<p>“Eda...what is that?”</p>
<p>“A lunchbox.”</p>
<p>“Do I want to know?”</p>
<p>“Just look.”</p>
<p>“You can’t be serious.” Lilith deadpanned, “<em>Firecrackers</em>.”</p>
<p>“Well...they’re more of like-”</p>
<p>“Eda. I am not allowing you to use firecrackers on the field.”</p>
<p>“There’s nothing that says that I can’t!”</p>
<p>“I say you can’t!"</p>
<p>“Okay, fine... but what about smoke bombs?”</p>
<p>“WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THESE THINGS FROM?”</p>
<p>“I’m not hearing a no.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t say yes.”</p>
<p>“Maybe?”</p>
<p>“If you get caught, I am <em> not </em>covering for you again.”</p>
<p>“YES!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Eda." Lilith sighed as she rubbed her temples, "For the last time, <em> no</em>." </p>
<p>"Just once,<em> please</em>?" </p>
<p>"Edalyn." The younger witch winced at the sound of her full name. </p>
<p>"Come on, you need to get more comfortable with your magic." </p>
<p>"I am comfortable-"</p>
<p>"I mean around me, Birdbrain." </p>
<p>"I-"</p>
<p>"Look, we both know you won't hurt me. All I'm asking is for you to use your magic a bit more." Eda smirked, "Because one day, you and I are gonna have a totally epic battle for fun, and I rather not kick your behind to the next decade within seconds."</p>
<p>"It's fine." Eda frowned. Lilith's confidence at the moment reminded her of what her older sister was two years ago. She hated it. </p>
<p>"So then you'll have no problem catching me then." </p>
<p>"<em>What</em>?" </p>
<p>"If you won't use your magic to fight me then use it to save me," Eda smirked as she began climbing up one of the trees in the front yard. </p>
<p>"Eda, get down. This is stupid." Lilith's eyes were blown wide. </p>
<p>"Not yet." The younger witch climbed higher and Lilith swore she was insanely close to having a heart attack.</p>
<p>"<em>Edalyn</em>." A fall from the top of the tree would land Eda with a broken bone or two. Lilith cursed herself. Out of all the traits Eda decided to copy, it had to be the self endangerment. </p>
<p>"I'm gonna do it!"</p>
<p>"You better not!"</p>
<p>"Three!"</p>
<p>"You wouldn't!"</p>
<p>"Two!" </p>
<p>"You<em> would</em>."</p>
<p>"One!" </p>
<p>Eda swore she heard screaming. Either her own, once she registered what a stupid idea this was, or Lilith’s, who released a stream full of colorful word choices the second Eda jumped from the tree. </p>
<p>Yet, when the younger witch opened her eyes, she found herself suspended in mid-air and staring at the ground, <em> unharmed</em>. </p>
<p>"You idiot pumpkin." It was the only thing Eda heard before she landed on the ground. </p>
<p>"But it worked, therefore I'm a smart pumpkin." The flick to the back of the head was worth it. </p>
<p>"You're an idiot," Lilith glared at her smiling sister.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"So I just got dumped," Eda smiled as she approached her sister at the refreshment table.</p>
<p>"He dumped you at <em>Grom</em>?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>"Oh, no, it's worse than that, one of his buddies told me." The younger witch scoffed, "Technically speaking, I got stood up."</p>
<p>"Are you okay?" </p>
<p>"Oh, definitely. We never even went out on an actual date, and to be fair, I think I dodged a bullet."</p>
<p>"Thank Titan for that."</p>
<p>"Anyway, wanna go help your favorite sister rig up a glitter bomb so it rains glitter down on everyone here and then maybe-"</p>
<p>"Totally going to prank his locker after the glitter bomb?"</p>
<p>"Oh, you know it, sister."</p>
<p>"Grab me some plastic bags and some honey."</p>
<p>"Why?"</p>
<p>"Because if we're going to prank a lowlife, we might as well do it in a way that doesn't scream <em>Eda</em>."</p>
<p>"I like the way you think."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"Alright, I'm not going to sugar coat it, we lost." Lilith folded her hands together, "But, it isn’t the end of the world. We're still here. We have another game next week. What's done is done and the only thing we can do is accept it and move forward."</p>
<p>It didn’t bother her that her entire team was looking at her as if she held all the answers to the universe in her words. "Even if the score said we lost, I don't feel like we did and neither should any of you. We only lost by two points. We cut it that close <em> together </em>and that's what matters." </p>
<p>Her mismatched eyes were bright, "I still have a good feeling about this season. I'll even say it now, that we can make it to champs and win it." </p>
<p>"You really think so?" </p>
<p>"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. The only way we can do it is if we work for it." As Lilith continued to bring the Banshee's spirits up, Eda couldn't help but smile. Here was her older sister, quiet and withdrawn, Lilith Clawthorne motivating an entire team that they could be better. Confidence was a good look on her. </p>
<hr/>
<p>“You know, I don’t remember the forest being this creepy.” Lilith scoffed as she moved her hand to guide the ball of light in front of them. </p>
<p>“You literally went like over half a year running through the forest every night,” Eda rolled her eyes. “I’m near certain that at some point you lived out here.”</p>
<p>“I was not that bad.” </p>
<p>“Birdbrain, I have to drug your tea or shoot you with a sleeping spell to make sure you sleep.”</p>
<p>“In my defense, this year is a lot more trouble than it should be.”</p>
<p>“That’s an understatement. But I swear, you <em>never</em> sleep.”</p>
<p>“I’m a night owl,” Lilith smirked as Eda’s jaw dropped. </p>
<p>“You did not just make a pun. Lily, I swear to Titan, I will whack you, you idiot pumpkin.”</p>
<p>“Says the one who calls me <em> Birdbrain. </em>”</p>
<p>“It fits.” </p>
<p>“Oh, look, we’re getting closer!”  </p>
<p>"Yes!" Eda cheered and drew a circle to add more light. </p>
<p>"Okay, remember, we're just getting an idea. We can come back later to pick out the wood for the palisman."</p>
<p>"Yes, yes." </p>
<hr/>
<p>"Ha! I beat you, I win!" Lilith giggled as Eda came speeding into the kitchen. </p>
<p>"How are you not dead?" The younger witch groaned as she sat down at the dining table. "You literally played the entire game."</p>
<p>"Oh, come on <em>Star Player, </em> brighten up." Lilith paused, "I think the excitement of the win has yet to die down." </p>
<p>"I can see that."</p>
<p>"Now, do you want a sundae or what?"</p>
<p>"Um, duh! The Unstoppable Clawthornes need to celebrate their win, Lily." </p>
<p>"Oh, of course. It was a team effort after all." </p>
<hr/>
<p>“You know, when we picked out our trees two weeks ago, I didn’t expect to get so many splinters,” Eda huffed as she glared at the offending wood shard in her palm. </p>
<p>“What did you think would happen when you carved wood?” Lilith scoffed in amusement as she drew a circle in the air to yank Eda’s splinter out of her hand. </p>
<p>“There has to be a way that the school does it.” The younger witch narrowed her eyes in concentration as she worked on shaping the wings of her owl, “Because unless everyone is getting a fish as their palisman, the attention to detail is insane.”</p>
<p>“You get to pick the palisman, you know.”</p>
<p>“But like still though, they make you wait until you graduate to get your staff, which is honestly hella stupid. How are they supposed to expect us to know how to work it and then suddenly join a coven?”</p>
<p>“Practice.” </p>
<p>“Okay, but how would you practice?”</p>
<p>“You’re putting way too much thought into this.”</p>
<p>“But you get my point.”</p>
<p>“Well, perhaps a coven teaches you.”</p>
<p>“Teaches you how to apply it to battle or everyday use?”</p>
<p>“Eda, if you’re so curious, just join a coven.”</p>
<p>“We both know that’s so not gonna happen.”</p>
<p>“Then stop overthinking this idea.”</p>
<p>“Fine.”</p>
<p>It was almost a week’s worth of almost non-stop carving later, when both sisters smiled excitedly at the other, each holding their respective palismans in their hands. </p>
<p>“You remembered the rule we agreed on, correct?” Lilith asked with her eyebrow raised.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, I can’t use my staff in public until I turn eighteen,” The younger Clawthorne huffed in mock annoyance before smiling again. “Thanks for y’know...carving with me.”</p>
<p>"Of course." Lilith smiled back, "So what's-"</p>
<p>"I'm calling him Owlbert!" Eda shouted with pride as she held up her palisman. </p>
<p>"It's fitting."</p>
<p>"It totally is."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Lilith knew that there would be no way she could make it to the goal before the buzzard, even with four of her teammates backing her. Her eyes wildly scanned the area for a solution. She needed a way to break the tie and declare Hexside the winner.</p>
<p>As she dodged an incoming attack from the other team, a bright head of orange near the goal caught her attention. Eda was practically unguarded after setting off a trap that caused two members of the opposing team to fly away from the goal. </p>
<p>“Calamity!” Lilith shouted and threw the ball as hard as she could at her younger sister. </p>
<p>The older witch ignored the tackle from behind and focused on the ball flying through the air. Eda had turned around at the right moment to save it from being intercepted and grabbed it before anyone else could. She sprinted to the goal, heels kicking up sand as she did, and ignored the four opponents closing in on her. The crowd began chanting the last three seconds of the game, and Lilith smirked confidently.</p>
<p>
  <em> THREE </em>
</p>
<p>Eda had dodged the attack that came from the ground below her, a determined look set on her face.</p>
<p>
  <em> TWO </em>
</p>
<p>The younger witch was within shooting range of the goal. All she had to do was throw it. Eda pulled her arm back, narrowed her eyes, and sent the ball nearly flaming through the remaining distance.</p>
<p>
  <em> ONE </em>
</p>
<p>At the exact moment, the ball went through the goal, the buzzard blared through the arena, announcing Hexside as the winner. </p>
<p>Eda smiled between heavy breaths, amazed at the fact she managed to score the winning shot of the championships, before throwing her arms up in victory as the crowd continued to go wild. Her golden eyes landed on her sister, who was surrounded by their teammates, who for some odd reason appeared to be crying. She got closer and her eyes narrowed in confusion as she noticed that her teammates were also crying.</p>
<p>“<em>Can’t believe you were right, Clawthorne. We got to champs and won it.” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “It’s over. It’s all over.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “What a way to end your last game as Captain.” </em>
</p>
<p>That’s right. Eda felt her heart drop into her stomach and her ears slightly lowered. This was Lilith’s last game. Her sister was graduating in a matter of months. Lilith was leaving Hexside. There weren’t going to be any more days after school spent training or drawing up new plays. No more games where the rush of adrenaline would keep them on a high for about a week. Getting home and making a celebration snack to commemorate their victory would never be the same. The days of the Unstoppable Clawthornes were now behind them. It was the end of an era. </p>
<p>“Eda.” The younger witch wasn’t even aware she had been crying until she looked up to see the blurred form of her older sister. Eda shook her head, words lost to her, as she launched herself at Lilith and began sobbing into her shoulder. She didn’t want it to end. She wasn’t ready for it to end. </p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I’m such a mess,” Eda chuckled in between tears, with her voice muffled due to Lilith’s jacket.</p>
<p>“Hey, Calamity,” Lilith’s voice was soft as she held her younger sister, “thanks for scoring the winning shot.”</p>
<p>“No problem, Birdbrain.” </p>
<hr/>
<p>Graduation definitely felt bittersweet, but that didn't stop Lilith from smiling when she elegantly strolled across the stage with confidence to receive her diploma. And if she noticed the fireworks that went off along with the airhorn that followed, she pretended not to know who was responsible. </p>
<p>"Haha! You're finally free! How does it feel?" Eda had practically knocked her over when she came running up for a hug. </p>
<p>"Like it's going to hit me at two in the morning," Lilith chuckled and wrapped an arm around her sister. </p>
<p>"So...what are you going to do next?" The younger Clawthorne asked as they began the walk back to the house. </p>
<p>"Don't know yet...but I guess we'll see what life has in store for us."</p>
<hr/>
<p>"I'm moving out." Lilith was barely twenty when she made the announcement. "And you can come with me if you want." </p>
<p>"Wait...<em> what </em>?" Eda was in her second to last year of school when she found out that Lilith was renting a small apartment on the outer edges of town. Turns out, working as a delivery witch around the night market was good pay as long as you managed to stay under the radar, which Lilith was freakishly good at. </p>
<p>"Our parents-"</p>
<p>"No, not that. I mean, you're allowing me to move out with you?" Eda's eyes were bright. </p>
<p>"If that's what you want." </p>
<p>"You are the best sister ever, I swear." The younger witch silently thanked the Titan for whatever allowed Lilith to be as awesome as she is. </p>
<p>"No, I'm sure that's you." </p>
<p>"Oh! And I can help you with the rent!" Eda easily brushed off the previous comment, "With all my knowledge and-<em> wait </em>." </p>
<p>"What?" </p>
<p>"This is what you meant when you told me to wait before dropping out at sixteen. Because-"</p>
<p>"Because now I can help you."</p>
<p>"Have I mentioned you're my favorite person in the world?" </p>
<hr/>
<p>"I swear, if I had a snail for every time we got the feds on us before noon, I'd be rich!" Eda cackled as she flew through the market on her staff. </p>
<p>The eighteen-year-old witch had some small streaks of white in her hair, but Eda argued it added more flair to her look. Long gone was her Hexside uniform and instead, a red cloak and a layered outfit of red and some heels took its place. </p>
<p>"I have half a mind to strangle you," Lilith grumbled as she flew beside her sister. </p>
<p>Lilith looked nearly unrecognizable with her dark-dyed straight hair, except for her grey strand, and lack of glasses. It was arguable she did it so when she chose to go back to her natural look it wouldn't be easy to identify her. Eda swore it was because her sister was still living in her goth phase. </p>
<p>“Only <em> half </em>?” Eda teased, “Someone is in a good mood.”</p>
<p>“Don’t push it,” came the response with narrowed eyes and a huff.</p>
<p>“Whatcha gonna do, <em>curse me</em>?” The younger witch joked with a sly grin, knowing her sister wouldn’t take offense to the reference. It’s been years since the <em>incident</em>, and while there were many ups and downs to rebuilding their relationship, the two sisters had reached a point where jabs and jokes at the curse they shared were nothing more than a common twisted inside joke between them.</p>
<p>“Oh, <em> please </em>.” There was a scoff in mock offense as Lilith gave her sister a small smirk, “As if I would waste my time finding a curse.” There was an innocent shrug, “I’ll simply just shrink your favorite sweater.”</p>
<p>“You’ll do <em> WHAT </em> ?!” Eda shrieked as Lilith flew faster. The younger witch proceeded to chase after her, with the threat of <em>capture </em>gone from their minds. “LILITH! YOU SHRINK MY SWEATER, AND SO HELP ME TITAN, I’LL BREAK YOUR STRAIGHTENER!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>If she was being honest, Eda was not expecting Lilith to come home with a bag full of books and scrolls. </p>
<p>"Happy birthday," Lilith smiled as she handed her sister the bag. </p>
<p>"Lily...I turned twenty like three months ago, thank you but what-"</p>
<p>"You know how you've been struggling to learn more magic but yet everything has come up short because you already know everything you've come across? Well," Lilith shrugged nonchalantly, "I did some digging and found some things that I believed would help." </p>
<p>"Seriously?"</p>
<p>"Seriously."</p>
<p>"You're the best."</p>
<hr/>
<p>In retrospect, perhaps antagonizing the feds with gadgets from the human realm was not the best idea. But in Eda’s defense, she was twenty-two, found a door that opened to a different dimension, and was curious about the little trinkets that came with it. </p>
<p>“If you get arrested, I am <em> not </em>breaking you out again.” There was a rare softness to Lilith’s voice, and Eda could remember similar words being said to her when they were both still in school. Funny how so much, but so little could change.</p>
<p>“Aw, come on, Lily, live a little, we’re only young rebels once!” Eda smirked as she leaned forward onto her staff so her face could rest against the wood. “You gotta enjoy it while it lasts!”</p>
<p>“This is why you should let me make the plans!”</p>
<p>“If I let you make the plans, then it would be all stealth and no excitement.”</p>
<p>“Your definition of excitement is throwing snack bags in people’s faces as soon as they realize you’ve stolen from them.”</p>
<p>“Not my fault people are easy to trick.”</p>
<p>“But still, <em> snack bags</em>?”</p>
<p>“Hey, in my defense it’s the first thing I pulled out of my hair.”</p>
<p>“You were the second-best student in Potions, and yet your master escape plan is something you can buy from a vending machine!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Lilith was twenty-five when she found out two very important things. One, apparently if she's pissed off enough, she'll apparently burn someone to a crisp. </p>
<p>"You know...you took the expression of looks killing to a whole new level," Eda cackled as her headless body picked up her detached head. </p>
<p>"We're not having this conversation. Not right now." She was not going to admit it yet, but seeing Eda’s head cut off was definitely traumatic. </p>
<p>"Hey, look at me, Lily, I'm fine. I'm alive. It's okay." Thank whatever was listening, Eda's head was now connected to her body.</p>
<p>"I know that, but still." </p>
<p>"I still can't believe you fried him."</p>
<p>"He hurt you." </p>
<p>"This reminds me of the time you punched Odalia in the face back in school."</p>
<p>"I would do it again."</p>
<p>"I know you would." </p>
<p>The second thing she found out at twenty-five was that Eda was amazing at keeping secrets. </p>
<p>"I call it the Bird House." Eda announced proudly, "Because you know, our last names and-"</p>
<p>"How did you even…"</p>
<p>"You're not the only one who can pull off shady jobs and get away clean." Eda smirked, "But also I just saved the crap out of everything. Plus, I know the lease is almost up, and at least this way we're, you know, <em> safe </em> and out of reach from any main threats." </p>
<p>"I still can't believe you did this without me knowing." </p>
<p>"Hey, the Bird House was a surprise-"</p>
<p>"We are not calling it that." </p>
<p>"The House of Clawthorne?" </p>
<p>"It sounds too formal." </p>
<p>"Okay, then what?"</p>
<p>Lilith was about to suggest an idea when she noticed an odd shape in the door. Two eyes and beak...what the-</p>
<p>"OH MY GOSH, IS THIS LILITH?" It <em>spoke</em>. </p>
<p>"Eda-"</p>
<p>"HI-YA, LILITH, I'M HOOTY!" </p>
<p>"Hooty...<em> talks </em>." </p>
<p>"Yeah, he's the defense system," Eda smiled. </p>
<p>"The <em> defense </em>…" Lilith rubbed her temples, the line between concerned and done now blurred. "You and your damned owl house are going to make me go fully grey." </p>
<p>"Lily, you genius!" </p>
<p>"What?" </p>
<p>"We're calling it the Owl House!"</p>
<p>"Titan, give me strength." </p>
<hr/>
<p>"Lily! Promise you won't be mad!" Nothing good ever comes from those words. Especially considering the fact Eda was twenty-six and not sixteen. </p>
<p>"On a level of <em> Belos is coming down here to kill us </em> to <em> I accidentally started a fire</em>, where do we stand?" Lilith asked, but didn't look up from her book. </p>
<p>"More like I got us a roommate!"</p>
<p>"And where is this roommate?" It was probably another one of those weird human trinkets. The odd dummy ones were definitely the most concerning. </p>
<p>"Here." The older witch stiffened when she felt a weight on her lap. Lilith glanced down at the small sleeping demon. </p>
<p>"Wha-"</p>
<p>"His name is King and we're keeping him." Eda smiled, "Isn’t he adorable?"</p>
<p>"He is," Lilith nodded her head in agreement before gently stroking the fluffy demon's back, "but he needs a bath if he's going to stay."</p>
<hr/>
<p>Lilith was twenty-nine when Eda came through the door cackling at something with King on her head. </p>
<p>"Guess who are now the most wanted witches alive?" Eda was way too happy at being a wanted witch. </p>
<p>"Let me guess, half a million snails?" They both knew that it didn't mean anything. Their fellow witches were far too involved in their own lives to care about two covenless sisters. </p>
<p>"A million, actually." Eda drew a circle and a large roll of paper appeared in thin air. </p>
<p>The design reminded Lilith of a mosaic, considering the choice of shape use and over-exaggeration of Eda, King, and herself.</p>
<p>"Is that…"</p>
<p>"Yep. And I can't wait to frame it." </p>
<hr/>
<p>Eda was thirty-one when she came back from her weekend trip to the Human Realm. </p>
<p>"You would hate it there," Eda scoffed, "loud people, lots of noise, a lot of death traps on wheels, and I was married for nineteen hours...well technically the person I stole the I.D. from was married for nineteen hours."</p>
<p>"But yet you continue to bring in human trash?" </p>
<p>"Hey, that stuff sells pretty well." </p>
<p>"The potions aren't that bad either." </p>
<p>"Yeah, well maybe you should join me out there instead of working at the library." </p>
<p>"You and I both know I prefer the quiet spaces." </p>
<p>"Fair."</p>
<hr/>
<p>The years continued to fly by, more random events and a few scares of death hexes, but Lilith was certain that after everything, after all the years and through everything else, they were okay. </p>
<p>“Oh, com’ on, Lily.” Eda cackled as she pointed behind them, “You might need to get your eyes checked again if you think we’re going to be brought down by a couple of bone-headed morons.”</p>
<p>“As if you would give them the chance,” Lilith scoffed fondly before glancing over her shoulder.  “If you want to set up shop, we need to leave now. I’m done with this, you?”</p>
<p>“Yep.” The younger witch smirked as she looked back, “These losers ain’t gonna know what hit them.”</p>
<p>“Is it tube or blast this time?”</p>
<p>“Blast.”</p>
<p>“Ready when you are.”</p>
<p>“Go!”</p>
<p>Two spell circles were drawn and if you asked anyone what happened in the forest that morning, they would say two bodies got blasted across the Isles, and right back to the Emperor’s doorstep while two witches took off flying toward the market.</p>
<p>Lilith laughed, glancing over her shoulder to see the look of amusement on Eda’s face as they flew above the treeline of the forest. Sure, life hadn’t worked out like she thought it would, and while flying with her sister to sell human trash wasn’t where she thought she would be, at least, she was living her dream by working alongside the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is it, my dear readers. My first multi-chapter owl house fic is complete. Thank you once again to everyone who took the time to read/review. It really means a lot and I'm sorry for ripping your hearts out during the other two chapters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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